San Augustín Pass forms a divide between the Tularosa Basin on the east and the Jornada del Muerto on the west, cut between the Organ Mountains to the south and the San Augustín-San Andrés Mountains to the north. White gypsum sands glisten to the northeast, and the Rio Grande Valley lies to the west. The pass has long provided the best access through these three mountain ranges and was chosen as the route for U.S. 70, one of the nation's first coast-to-coast highways. Roadcuts near the summit revealed Tertiary monzonite, and nearby Organ Mountain mines yielded copper, lead, silver, gold, zinc, and fluorite. Its elevation is 5,710 feet.