The Godfrey Hills lie immediately to the northeast, and the mountains beyond are part of the Lincoln National Forests White Mountain Wilderness, a landscape of pinyon, juniper, aspen, and pine forests that supports camping, hiking, backpacking, and diverse wildlife including deer, elk, mountain lion, and bear. Much of the eastern view is on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation, which includes the northern portion of the Sacramento Mountains and Sierra Blanca, or White Mountain, whose summit reaches 11,973 feet. The reservation covers 738 square miles, only a fraction of the traditional territory once occupied by nomadic Apache bands. High in the range are historic mining villages and modern resorts such as Ruidoso and Cloudcroft. The Sacramento Mountain chain stretches about 60 miles, forming the northeastern edge of the Tularosa Basin, and farther south its west face, the Sacramento Escarpment, creates the backdrop for Alamogordo. Permanent streams and intermittent arroyos carry spring and rain water from the mountain canyons to the Tularosa Basin, though most of this water quickly disappears underground or is fully used for human consumption and agriculture. In wetter prehistoric times, some arroyos that now flow only after heavy rains may have run year-round. Between about AD 1000 and AD 1400, Indian farming villages stood along each major stream before being abandoned for reasons not fully understood, possibly including drought, disease, warfare, or a combination of factors. Later settlements such as Tularosa, La Luz, and Alamogordo were likewise established to benefit from mountain runoff, and early non-Native American settlers built miles of pipeline to carry water to the valley floor, enabling construction of the railroad and encouraging further settlement.