Qualla: Capulin Volcano

Capulin Volcano: Introduction

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Leaflet, Public domain. In May 1971, Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charlie Duke climbed a cinder cone in northeastern New Mexico to study volcanic geology before walking on the Moon. Their instructor, William R. Muehlberger, had chosen Capulin Volcano for its textbook perfection: a symmetrical cone rising 305 meters above the surrounding plains, its 1.7-kilometer crater still sharply defined after roughly 60,000 years of wind and weather. The volcano that helped train men for another world remains one of the most accessible and visually striking volcanic landforms in the United States.

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Image: Leaflet | Public domain

Capulin Volcano: Born in Fire, Named for Fruit

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit R.D. Miller, USGS, Public domain. Capulin Volcano last erupted approximately 56,000 to 62,000 years ago, according to cosmogenic helium and argon-argon dating techniques applied in the mid-1990s. Earlier estimates had placed the eruption as recently as 4,000 to 10,000 years ago, but modern radiometric methods pus...

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Image: R.D. Miller, USGS | Public domain

Capulin Volcano: A Road to the Rim

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Eric T Gunther, CC BY 3.0. A two-mile paved road spirals from the base of the volcano to a parking lot at the rim, making Capulin one of the few volcanoes in the world you can drive up. From the top, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains line the western horizon and the surrounding volcanic field stretches in eve...

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Image: Eric T Gunther | CC BY 3.0

Capulin Volcano: Custodians of the Cone

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NWhitten1776, CC BY-SA 4.0. The monument's first custodian was Jessie Foote Jack, a local rancher who used her husband's political connections to secure the position in 1916. Jack valued the volcano as prime grazing land, and the custodian title gave her family sole rights to run cattle on its slopes. She s...

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Image: NWhitten1776 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Capulin Volcano: Where the Plains Meet the Mountains

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Pmsyyz, CC BY-SA 3.0. Capulin sits at the intersection of the Great Plains grasslands and Rocky Mountain forests, creating a unique ecotone that supports 73 species of birds. Spotted towhees, Bullock's orioles, mountain bluebirds, and Steller's jays nest on the cone, while wild turkeys, ospreys, and r...

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Image: Pmsyyz | CC BY-SA 3.0

Capulin Volcano: The Darkest Skies

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NWhitten1776, CC BY-SA 4.0. Capulin Volcano holds International Dark-Sky Association Gold Tier certification, placing it among the darkest night skies in the entire country. The monument's remote location in Union County, far from any major city, means light pollution is nearly nonexistent. On clear nights,...

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Image: NWhitten1776 | CC BY-SA 4.0