BGuthrie Photos: NM -- Capulin Volcano National Monument

NM -- Capulin Volcano National Monument:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. CAPU_060527_014.JPG: Capulin Volcano National Monument: 5.5 miles: An outstanding example of an extinct volcanic cinder cone. Capulin Mountain was formed as early as 10,000 years ago. In cinder cones, lava pours from cracks in the base rather than over the top. Capulin itself was the escape hatch for gases that blew lava fragments into the air where they solidified and landed red hot on the cone.
2. CAPU_060527_025.JPG: Welcome to Capulin Volcano National Monument: Capulin Volcano directly in front of you is a dramatic example of the volcanic processes that shaped northeastern New Mexico. Capulin Volcano National Monument preserves this classic cinder cone. About 60,000 years ago thunderous explosions sent molten rock thousands of feet into the air, which cooled and fell to build a cone nearly as tall as the Empire State Building. Today the forested volcano provides habitat for mule deer, wild turkey, black bear, and other wild life. The 2-mile road to the summit and paved trails into the crater and around its rim provide access to the volcano. The spectacular views of the surrounding area provide an introduction to the western volcanic landscape.
3. CAPU_060527_029.JPG: Beds of Ashes and Cinders
4. CAPU_060527_031.JPG: Beds of Ash and Cinders: Capulin erupted in a long series of explosive bursts. Each layer of cinders represents the fallout from one such burst. Notice that the layers differ in thickness, size of particles, and colors of material. Many blocks of lava and bombs which cooled in mid-air are mixed with the cinders and fine ash.
5. CAPU_060527_037.JPG: The remaining shots are of the scenery as you drive up the mountain top. The mountains in the distance, however, are cinder cones as well.
6. CAPU_060527_039.JPG: Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field
7. CAPU_060527_049.JPG: The Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field: This region of volcanic activity is the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field. It has been active periodically, beginning at the western edge of the field with the Raton Phase from 9 to 3 million years ago. The Clayton Phase erupted between 3 and 2 million years ago, at the eastern edge of the field. The Capulin Phase began about 1 million years ago at the center of the field. Capulin Volcano erupted approximately 60,000 years ago, when mammoths and giant bison roamed these plains. The landmarks you see as you travel across northeastern New Mexico are the features of the volcanic field. The flat-topped mesas are ancient lava flows. The mountains are cinder cones, shield volcanoes, tuff rings, and volcanic domes.
8. CAPU_060527_061.JPG: Grasslands Meet Mountains: The shortgrass prairie and mountain forest meet here in the high plains of northeastern New Mexico. This transition between two ecosystems provides habitat for many different plants and animals. The shortgrass prairie is the western limit of the North American Great Plains.
9. CAPU_060527_071.JPG: Making a Monument: The late 1800s were a time of homesteading and private acquisition of public lands. Conservationists began working to preserve some public lands like Yellowstone and Yosemite. In 1891, the General Land Office of the Department of the Interior withdrew Capulin Volcano "from settlement, entry or other disposition under any of the public land laws" because it was such a perfect specimen of an extinct North American volcano. In 1916, President Wilson issued the proclamation declaring the mountain a national monument to preserve "...a striking example of recent extinct volcanoes..." On September 5, 1962, Congress amended the proclamation to "...preserve the scenic and scientific integrity of Capulin Mountain National Monument..."
10. CAPU_060527_075.JPG: Note the sandstorm in the distance
11. CAPU_060527_096.JPG: A River of Lava Turned to Stone: On the plains in front of you about four miles away, are a jumble of rough and ragged rocks covered with trees. These are the remains of the second of three lava flows from Capulin Mountain Volcano many thousands of years ago. During its eruption, the volcano created lava flows that covered twenty-five square miles.
12. CAPU_060527_100.JPG: This is the visitor center with a water treatment area behind it
13. CAPU_060527_111.JPG: The parking lot is the start of the walking trail around the rim of the crater.
14. CAPU_060527_115.JPG: Skunkbush: This shiny-leafed, woody bush is called skunkbush because its leaves emit a strong, unpleasant smell with crushed. Strangely, deer do not seem to mind the odor and often choose it as one of their favored meals. Late in summer, its sticky, orange-red fruit is relished by birds and other animals.
15. CAPU_060527_119.JPG: Skunkbush
16. CAPU_060527_124.JPG: That's the "town" of Capulin
17. CAPU_060527_132.JPG: Plantlife on a Cinder Cone: This cinder cone formation depends upon its cloak of vegetation. Without this protective cloak, these slopes would erode at a faster rate, causing the cone's smooth symmetry to be lost. Soil, moisture, drainage, slope, weather, animals, and the activities of man determine what plants live here.
18. CAPU_060527_136.JPG: Pressure ridges in the distance
19. CAPU_060527_141.JPG: The bottom of the volcanic crater is below
20. CAPU_060527_145.JPG: The Wind: Notice how Capulin Mountain Crater is higher on one side? When the mountain was erupting, prevailing southwesterly winds blew cinders over to the far side where they accumulated forming the present cinder cone volcano.
21. CAPU_060527_168.JPG: Pressure Ridges: Look down towards the base of the mountain and follow the lava flow that winds away from the mountain. The ripply lava formations you see are called pressure ridges. The ripples were caused by hot lava moving beneath the surface that had already cooled and hardened into a crust.
22. CAPU_060527_174.JPG: Sierra Grande: The immense mountain in front of you is the million-year-old Sierra Grande. This mountain when formed created a shield type volcano. At 8,720 feet above sea level and rising 2,200 feet above the surrounding plain, it is one of the largest volcanos in the region.
23. CAPU_060527_178.JPG: Sierra Grande
24. CAPU_060527_225.JPG: Superb Crater View: From here you can get an idea as to the immensity of the Capulin Mountain Crater. The opposite side of the crater is about 1,450 feet away and is the highest side. It is 415 feet above the crater floor and 8,182 feet above sea level. The lowest side, where you parked your car, is 100 feet above the crater floor.
25. CAPU_060527_247.JPG: Pinon: Scrubby, needled evergreen pinons are the most abundant trees on Capulin Mountain, and they are considered a "trademark" of the high southwestern mesas. Several of the mountain's pinons may be more than two centuries old. During some autumns, you may find cones, containing tiny, but tasty seeds.
26. CAPU_060527_251.JPG: Pinon
27. CAPU_060527_267.JPG: Prickly Pear: This cactus apparently thrives because of the water, the sunlight, and the soil of this area. The stems grow fat during moist periods to store water, then they shrink during a drought. Their spiny, purplish fruits are sought by birds and wildlife.
28. CAPU_060527_284.JPG: Ladybugs: In the summer of some years, you may be treated to the sight of large colorful swarms of ladybugs, clustered on rocks, trees, and bushstems. These are an important species of beetle which help to control many insect pests such as aphids and scale insects.
29. CAPU_060527_294.JPG: Mountain Mahogany: Surprisingly, this clump of shrubby true mountain mahogany is a member of the rose family. It has tiny whitish flowers in the early spring and feather-like plumes on its small fruits in late summer. Mountain mahogany shrubs are commonly called "deer browse," because deer and antelope eat them.
30. CAPU_060527_304.JPG: Juniper: Scrubby evergreen and one-seed junipers are often companion to pinons on the high southwestern mesas. Blue berried junipers provide protective covering for wildlife and food for deer and many small animals and birds.
31. CAPU_060527_310.JPG: Pinion (I presume)
32. CAPU_060527_316.JPG: "Time Stains": These delicate gray, green, and yellow growths on the boulder in front of you are called lichens. Some lichen colonies are 20,000 years old, thus the name "time stains." Lichens are responsible for creating a weak acid that breaks the rocks down, making soil. Thus, plants can grow on the mountain.
33. CAPU_060527_323.JPG: "Time stains" of lichen
34. CAPU_060527_332.JPG: Volcanic boca
35. CAPU_060527_334.JPG: Mule Deer: Early in the morning, or late in the evening, you may see mule deer feeding on vegetation in and around the crater. The mule deer wander into the surrounding countryside in search of browse and water.
36. CAPU_060527_338.JPG: Porcupines Feasted Here! This is the innocent but destructive work of porcupines! Hibernating nocturnal creatures go from tree to tree, tearing off the tough bark with their large chisel teeth to get at the succulent, growing "cambium layer." It is possible for a porcupine to girdle and kill a tree.
37. CAPU_060527_342.JPG: Porcupine damage
38. CAPU_060527_346.JPG: Volcanic "Boca": The natural rock levee beginning near the base of the mountain, below you, outlines the "boca" or vent from which this volcano's lava flowed. The levee extends almost to the highway and then turns back towards the mountain, roughly paralleling the road to the visitor center.
39. CAPU_060527_368.JPG: Crater floor: You are now standing near the bottom of the crater.... The cone around you is composed of volcanic material, principally cinders and ashes ejected from the vent. At the end of the eruption, the remaining lava cooled and hardened, sealing the vent below you. As the plug cooled, the top layer cracked into boulders which now cover the plug.
40. CAPU_060527_372.JPG: At the bottom of the crater
41. CAPU_060527_375.JPG: Notice the people -- this gives you an idea of the size of some of the cinder blocks.
42. CAPU_060527_391.JPG: Building a Cinder Cone: Cinder cones experience a single eruptive period, and then die. Several explosive eruptions created Capulin Volcano during a period as short as one year or as long as nine or more years. Today, Capulin Volcano is extinct. Volcanic ash, cinders, and rocks, blown thousands of feet into the air, blanketed the landscape as they cooled and fell. Layers of dust like ash, small rocks called cinders, and larger chunks called volcanic bombs piled up around the vent to build the cover.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Capulin Volcano National Monument
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Capulin Volcano National Monument, located in Northeastern New Mexico, was designated a U.S. National Monument on August 9, 1916. It is an example of an extinct cinder cone volcano that is part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field. A paved road spirals around the volcano and visitors can drive up to a parking lot at the rim. Hiking trails circle the rim as well as lead down into the mouth of the volcano. The visitor's center offers educational programs about volcanoes.

From the National Park Service:

Capulin Volcano National Monument is a well-preserved, relatively young (58,000 to 62,000 years old), symmetrical cinder cone. It rises steeply from the surrounding grassland plains to an elevation of 8,182 feet above sea level. The irregular rim of the crater is about a mile in circumference and the crater about 400 feet deep.

Capulin Volcano is one of the outstanding landmarks located in the northeast corner of New Mexico, where the rolling grasslands meet the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Capulin Volcano's highest point provides unobstructed, panoramic views of the volcanic field, distant snow-capped mountains, and portions of four states (New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado). Capulin Volcano also offers visitors excellent opportunities for observing and understanding volcanic formation. The large volcanic field surrounding the monument contains at least 100 recognizable volcanoes, and aids visitors in gaining insights into 10 million years of the geological history of northern New Mexico.

Monument History:

On January 16, 1891, Capulin Mountain was "…withdrawn from settlement, entry or other disposition under any of the public land laws, until such time as Congress may see fit to take action touching the same or until otherwise ordered by competent authority…"

On August 9, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson set Capulin aside as a U.S. National Monument by Presidential Proclamation No. 1340, to preserve "…a striking example of recent extinct volcanoes … which …is of great scientific and especially geologic interest…"

Public Law 87-635, 87th Congress, S.2973, September 5, 1962, amended the proclamation to "…preserve the scenic and scientific integrity of Capulin Mountain National Monument…" because of the significance of Capulin Volcano.

On December 31, 1987, Congress changed the Monument's name from, Capulin Mountain National Monument to Capulin Volcano National Monument, by Public Law 100-225 (101 Stat. 1547).
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