High Desert Moonrise Greeting Cards
High Desert Moonrise
Photo By: Karen Butts
Photo Taken: 5:42pm, February 1st 2026
Location: Abiquiu, New Mexico
Every 29.5 days we get to experience a full moon, a powerful event! Here in the desert southwest, the skies are often clear and the horizon is unobstructed allowing us to enjoy the moonrise and moonset. The extreme northern and southern rising and setting points on the horizon have been tracked in native cultures and follow an 18.6 year cycle. Chaco Culture National Historical Park in north western New Mexico reflects these observations in the architecture of its buildings as well as in images carved in rocks (petroglyphs). It’s baffling to consider the multiple moving parts as we see the shifts each month as the full moon rises and sets in a slightly different location. Our planet earth is spinning 1,040 mph (at the equator) and orbits the sun at the amazing speed of 66,616 mph. Then consider the rotation of the moon around the earth itself… 2,288 mph. It’s all happening pretty fast but, when we stop to watch the moonrise everything slows down and it is a magical moment every time.
