Elevation: 8182 feet (2494 m)

Depth of Crater: 400 feet

Coordinates: 36.782222, -103.97

Last Eruption: 60,000 years ago

Volcano Type: extinct cinder cone volcano

Nearest City: five miles north of Capulin, NM

Range: Capulin is part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field

Summits:

First Climbed:

Access to Summit: Paved Road

Age: 62,000 year old

Native Name: From choke cherry (Prunus virginiana)

Capulin Volcano, located in northeastern New Mexico is 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.

The volcano was designate a national monument on August 9, 1916 and is administered by the National Park Service. The visitor center features exhibits about the volcano, geology of the surrounding area, natural and cultural history, and offers educational programs about volcanoes. There is also a video presentation about the volcano.

Cinder cones, such as Capulin experience a single eruptive period and then die. The eruptive period can last as short as one year or as long as a decade. During the eruption, volcanic ash, cinders and rocks, blown thousands of feet into the air, blanket the surrounding landscape as the debris cools and falls. Also, layers of dust like ash, small cinder rocks and large chunks of cinder (called volcanic bombs) pile up around the vent to build the cone. Then, cinder cones, like Capulin die and eventually become extinct.

Capulin volcano lies in the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field, which has been periodically active. The western edge Raton phase was active 9 to 3 million years ago. The eastern side of the field, during the Clayton Phase, erupted more recently, between 3 and 2 million years ago. At the center of this field, Capulin volcano erupted approximately 60,000 years ago.

The name capulin comes from a type of black cherry, Prunus serotina, that is native to southern North America.

While the geologic history of Capulin Volcano began well over a million years ago, its involvement in human history has been much more recent. Capulin has traditionally been a crossroads of human activity as diverse people and cultures traversed to and from the Great Plains in the hunt for large mammals.

Archaeological evidence found at the Folsom Man site, eight miles northwest of Capulin Volcano, confirms that from the first migration across the land bridge (about some time between 4000 BCE and 2000 BCE), the first wayfarers roamed this area in search of large mammals which included the Pleistocene Bison.

Likewise, groups of Native Americans, such as the Jicarilla Apache and the Ute, who were included in the third migration who crossed the land bridge (possibly some time between 1000 BCE and 500 BCE) used this region as hunting grounds until the arrival of the Spanish in 1541 CE.

Early explorers Don Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and Juan de Padilla passed through Capulin area in search of riches and regions to conquer paving the way for a greater influx of Europeans and resulting in a transformation of the cultural landscape over the next 350 years.

In the late afternoon, I arrive at Capulin Volcano National Monument, and when arriving at the entrance station, the ranger tells me that she is just about to close the park, but that I have just enough time to drive to the top because she also needs to drive up to insure everyone is on the way down.

The road leading to the top of Capulin Volcano is called Volcano Road. This road is about two miles long and travels all the way to the crater rim.

Trailers and towed vehicles are not allowed on Volcano Road. Also, due to the fact that the road has no shoulders, bicycles and pedestrians are not permitted on the road during park hours. However, when the gate is closed and the road is closed to vehicles, then both bicycles and pedestrians are allowed.

Further, snow, ice, and severe thunderstorms may also cause park personnel to close the Volcano Road.

From the parking lot at the top of Capulin, there is a short 0.2 mile walk dropping 105 feet down to the bottom of the crater.

Also, there is a 1 mile rim loop trail that circles the entire rim of Capulin crater. This trail has an elevation change of 305 feet and provides great views of the crater as well as the surrounding volcanic landscape.

The elevation on this trail is between 7800 feet and 8182 feet.

Deer can often be seen browsing on top of Capulin.

The Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field surrounding Capuline Volcano contains more than 100 recognizable volcanoes, all of which represent about 10 million years of the geological history in northern New Mexico.

Capulin Volcano is an outstanding landmark located in the northeast corner of New Mexico, where the rolling grasslands meet the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The highest point of Capulin Volcano provides unobstructed, panoramic views of the volcanic field, distant snow-capped mountains, and portions of a five state area including Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas.

Visitors to Capulin Volcano and the visitors center are provide with an excellent opportunity to observe and understand volcanic formation.