Capulin Volcano National Monument

For seventy years the mountain was officially not a volcano. Woodrow Wilson's 1916 proclamation set it aside as Capulin Mountain National Monument, and in 1962 Congress amended the proclamation to protect the cone's scenic and scientific integrity. Only on December 31, 1987, did another act of Congress rename it Capulin Volcano National Monument, the name this panel uses. The cone the panel calls extinct belongs to a field the Park Service counts as dormant rather than dead, quiet for the last thirty to forty thousand years.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Capulin Volcano National Monument 5.5 Miles An outstanding example of an extinct volcanic cinder cone, Capulin Volcano 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.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Capulin Volcano National Monument — 2.6 mi
  A cinder cone you can drive to the top of, rising more than a thousand feet from the high plains east of Raton, whose lava broke out of its foot rather than its crater.

More markers nearby

• Capulin Volcano National Monument — 1.2 mi
• Sierra Grande — 6.8 mi
• Sierra Grande — 11 mi
• Raton — 26 mi