Nestled in the northeast corner of New Mexico, Capulin volcano protrudes from the flat expanse, an anthill of giant proportions. A bowl-shaped crater tops the steep, conical hill. From its perch at the eastern edge of the Great Plains, it commands a clear view of New Mexico, Colorado, and Oklahoma.
<p>Capulin last erupted roughly 56,000 to 62,000 years ago. The volcano sits near the center of the Raton-Clayton field, a cluster of smaller volcanoes spread across 7,500 square miles (roughly 19,400 square kilometers). The oldest of these date back about 9 million years, while the youngest emerged roughly 45,000 years ago.
</p><p>Scientists suspect Capulin formed in a series of bursts and starts over a few weeks to several years. After an initial, large eruption that laid the volcano’s foundation, a number of small lava flows and cinder eruptions paved over the mound, steepening its slopes. In cinder-cone eruptions, “the supply of magma is small or episodic, facilitating the cooling and clogging of a vent and subterranean pathway,” according to the National Park Service. Over time, wind has nibbled away at the mound, eroding its surface.
</p>
While Capulin volcano probably won’t erupt again, magma may push out of the ground at a new spot in the surrounding volcanic field.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Pola Lem. Instrument(s): Landsat 8 - OLI
2016-07-19 12:25:50
<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=88581">http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=88581</a>