The two RV Gypsies at Capulin Volcano National Monument in New Mexico October 3, 2012


Capulin Volcano National Monument, located in northeastern New Mexico, was designated a U.S. National Monument on August 9, 1916 "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." 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.

Capulin Volcano 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. It is big. It is nearly a mile across at its base, has a relief of nearly 1,000 feet, and a summit crater 400 feet deep, making it one of the larger examples of this type of volcano.

Below: The view from Capulin Volcano parking lot. The landmarks seen 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.


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 3 to 9 million years ago. The Clayton Phase erupted between 2 and 3 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 two RV Gypsies hiked the Vent Trail that is only 0.2 miles long and goes down to the bottom of the crater to the vent, giving the two RV Gypsies an unusual opportunity to see the inside of a volcanic mountain. (Karen has been on a trail all around the rim of a volcano which provided a great view of the heart of the volcano while she was on the big island of Hawaii, but the heart of the volcano was still hot, unlike this one).


Small rocks (nut size to fist size solid lava) are called cinders. Cinders are often mined for use in landscaping and road building. Cinder cones experience a single eruptive period, and then die. Volcanic bombs are fragments of lava (fist size to car size) that were partially molten when ejected form the Volcano. Volcanic ash, cinders, and rocks, blown thousands of feet into the air, blanketed the landscape as they cooled and fell. Layers of cinders and volcanic bombs piled up around the vent to build the cone.


The two RV Gypsies took a rest and just enjoyed the moment.


The two RV Gypsies then stood at the vent of the volcano, the opening in the Earth's surface from which the volcano erupts (sometimes call the heart of the volcano). The vent for Capulin has long been plugged by solid lava such as the rocks shown above.





Capulin Chokecherry - like mountain mahogany, chokecherry is a member of the ROSE family and a popular place for deer to browse. The abundance of Capulin (the Spanish word for chokecherry - pronounced Cah-Poo-Leen) gave the mountain, the National Monument, and the nearby village their names.





Even though it was a short, easy trail, it was a bit steep. But OK - you two - stop ACTING like you are dying, it really wasn't that hard of a trail.

Lots of antelope are seen on the roads to and from Capulin Volcano.

The two RV Gypsies stayed in the Raton KOA in Raton, New Mexico. But no photos were taken in the campground because this was just a one night stop-over. But, it must be mentioned that the lady in the check-in office was very nice.