| Capulin Mountain Mountain/Rock |
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| Capulin Mountain   | 
| Page Type: Mountain/Rock Location: New Mexico, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 36.78390°N / 103.968°W Elevation: 8182 ft / 2494 m | Page By: truchas Created/Edited: Feb 14, 2004 / Feb 8, 2005 Object ID: 152322 Hits: 4424 Loading... Page Score: 89.49% - 23 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Overview
Rising over 1,200 ft. above U.S. highway 64/87 between Clayton and Raton, NM, Capulin Mountain is an almost perfectly shaped volcano in the Raton-Clayton Volcanic field of Northeast New Mexico. Despite claims of it being only 2300 years old, it's actual age is 60,000 years. Capulin Mountain has a crater depth of 410 ft and a rim circumference of 1 mile. A 2 mile circular road will wind you up to the lower portion of the rim, where you can hike a paved trail around the rim and over to the summit. This mountain is a must see for its 360 degree views of this spectacular volcanic field and views all the way to the Sangre de Cristo mountains of New Mexico and Colorado. Portions of 5 states can be seen from the summit. Next time you are driving highway 64 on your way to Colorado, stop by. It's worth the extra time.
Capulin Mountain from the highway just west of the town of Capulin.
The symmetry of Capulin Mountain was preserved because lava did not flow from the main crater but from secondary vents located at the western base of the cone. After the eruptions ceased, vegetation gained a foothold on the steep, unstable slopes, and in time, the mountain became stabilized as the dense root growth and the forces of nature changed the volcanic matter into soil. (http://www.nps.gov/cavo/CavoGeology.htm)
Capulin Mountain lies within the federally designated Capulin Volcano National Monument. It was proclaimed on Aug. 9, 1916 and is 792.5 acres in size.
Probably not many people realize that New Mexico has one of the greatest concentrations of young, well-exposed, and uneroded volcanoes on the continent. New Mexico is one of the best places to study the natural history of volcanoes. Twenty percent of the U.S. National Parks and Monuments based on volcanic themes are in New Mexico. There are more here than Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington combined. And as a bonus, it is also the Rift Valley state (Rio Grande Rift, cause of the volcanic activity); it has one of only four or five big continental rifts in the world, East Africa being one of the other ones.
Volcanism in New Mexico is not "extinct," but is dormant. The record of volcanism in New Mexico is continuous over tens of millions of years. New Mexico has one of only three large mid-crustal active magma bodies (Socorro) in the continent. (The others are Long Valley, California and Yellowstone, Wyoming.) The Socorro area is one of the few areas where there is a dearth of young volcanoes, so perhaps the Rift is working on filling out its volcano landscaping.
The Raton-Clayton volcanic field, in the extreme northeastern corner of New Mexico, is Pliocene to Holocene in age. Approximately 120 basaltic to nephelinitic cinder cones, ranging in age from greater than 1 million to 30,000 years old (Baby Capulin), are distributed throughout the field, with a concentration of feldspathoidal compositions near the town of Des Moines. Many cones have associated lava flows. (http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov)
Getting There
Capulin Volcano National Monument is located in the northeast corner of New Mexico, where the rolling grasslands meet the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The monument consists of 792.5 acres. If traveling by car, the monument is located 33 miles east of Raton, NM, via US Highway 64/87 and 58 miles west of Clayton, NM, via the same highway. The park entrance is off New Mexico Highway 325, 3 miles north of the town of Capulin. Interstate 25 connects Raton with Denver, Colorado, from the north, and Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM, from the south. (http://www.nps.gov/cavo/home.htm)
There are two trails leading off from the parking lot. The summit trail is 1 mile round trip with the summit being half way. The second trail is 1/4 mile long one way and leads you to the bottom of the crater.
Click here for a detailed map on how to find Capulin Volcano National Monument.
Red Tape
Open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's day. Winter hours (Labor Day to Memorial Day): 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Summer hours (Memorial Day to Labor Day): 7:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. The Volcano Road is closed after park hours except on Friday and Saturday nights during July and August when it remains open until sunset.
The Volcano Road, which leads to the rim, is approximately two miles long. Trailers, towed vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians are prohibited because the road is narrow and has no shoulders. The road is closed after park hours. Snow, ice accumulation, and/or severe thunderstorms can also close the Volcano Road. Current road conditions are available by calling monument headquarters.
The Crater Rim Trail is one mile and the Crater Vent Trail is 0.2 miles. The Lava Flow Trail at the base of the volcano is one mile.
Strollers are not allowed on the Crater Rim and Crater Vent Trails. A child carrier backpack is available for loan at the Visitor Center. Buses must be escorted on the narrow Volcano Road.
From January 17 through April 18, 2004, skiers who present a lift ticket from a New Mexico ski area will receive a 50% discount on the daily entrance fee to Capulin Volcano National Monument. Lift tickets or season passes must be from a participating ski area such as: Angel Fire Resort, the Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Area, Red River Ski Area, Ski Santa Fe, and Taos Ski Valley. The park entrance fee for visitors with a valid lift ticket is $2.50 per vehicle or $1.50 per person.
Individual: The individual fee is for motorcyclists or larger, noncommercial tour vans like church
groups.
Fees
$3.00 - 7 Days
Per private vehicle:
Fees
$5.00 - 7 Days
Contact Information
Superintendent, Capulin Mountain National Monument
P.O. Box 40
Capulin, NM 88414
505.278.2201
cavo_interpretation@nps.gov
By Fax
505-278-2211
Capulin Volcano National Monument Home Page
When To Climb
Any time of year. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in the Spring and can be severe with lightning and high winds.
Camping
There is no camping in the park. The closest private campground is in the nearby town of Capulin.
Capulin Camp & Rv Park
Capulin, NM 88414
(505) 278-2921
Mountain Conditions
External LinksImages
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