The Not-so-Boring Volcanic Field
Put that yawn away! The Boring Volcanic Field is far more exciting than it sounds! Where and what is this Boring Volcanic Field, and who gave it such an unexciting name? Buckle up – let’s go investigate!
Heading eastbound out of Portland, your eyes will either be fixed on traffic or on magnificent Mount Hood. Standing at 11,250’ above sea level, the stratovolcano certainly dominates the landscape. If you’re kicking back in the passenger seat, you’ll notice the enormous hills that just out of the landscape like molehills.
As you turn up Highway 26 toward Mount Hood, you’ll soon find yourself driving through the tiny town of Boring, Oregon.
The Cascades Volcanoes
The Pacific Northwest has a vibe all of its own. Trendy metropolitan cities, pulsing with their own energy. Thick forests of vibrant green and field strewn with wildflowers. Crashing ocean waves. And magnificent volcanoes that command the attention of the entire landscape.
The Cascade Arc is home to 20 very big and badass volcanoes, most of which are composite volcanoes, and over 3,000 smaller vents. Volcanic fields dot the landscape of the Pacific Northwest and have made it what it is today.
Capulin: The Summit
VITAL STATS
Name: Capulin
Type: Cinder Cone
Eruption Status: Extinct
Last Eruption: Approximately 60,000 years ago
Location: 36.7811° N, 103.9695° W
Northeastern New Mexico; Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field
The clouds that enshrouded Capulin’s cone finally began to break around mid-morning. We raced to the summit to see what had been hidden behind the thick mist all morning. What we found was breathtaking.
Capulin’s summit crater is perched over 1,300 feet above the surrounding plains, and the drive to reach it is nothing short of intimidating. If you’re not driving, take a peek out the passenger side window. There are no guardrails and the view is straight down. This cone has virtually no slope. Not intimidating…not at all…
Capulin Volcano
Vital Stats
Name: Capulin
Type: Cinder Cone
Eruption Status: Extinct
Last Eruption: Approximately 60,000 years ago
Location: 36.7811° N, 103.9695° W
Northeastern New Mexico; Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field
The drive east through Northern New Mexico can be a pretty boring one. The landscape is flat and brown, minus a few hills popping up here and there. Major yawn factor – until you see the unmistakable cone of a volcano standing majestically next to the highway. And then you realize exactly what you’re driving through.
The Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field stretches from southern Colorado to the western border of Oklahoma and Texas, near the town of Clayton, NM. This volcanic field is a bit of an anomoly in the volcano world. Most volcanoes form on hot spots (like Hawaii) or along plate boundaries (Cascade Range). New Mexico doesn’t sit on either one. However, a continental rift does run though the area where the land is pulling apart and much thinner than the surrounding crust. This is what allowed magma to rise to the surface, creating some spectacular volcanic activity.