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| These cliffs in the hills on the northwest side of Capulin Volcano are an old lava flow. This massive flow probably flowed across the landscape between other older volcanoes and flows before cooling. It was then possibly cut and uplifted along a fault. The cause of movement along the fault is probably related to the ongoing regional tectonics and igneous activity associated with the development of the Raton-Clayton volcanic field. In addition, studies of erosion rates of dated volcanic rocks from area buttes and mesas suggest that erosional downcutting has added about 120 meters of relief to the landscape underlain by volcanic rocks formed in the Clayton phase of volcanism (about 3.6 million years ago) (Stroud, 1997). |
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