Raton New Mexico

These two passes played critical roles in the events that ensured that New Mexico and the Southwest would become, and continue to be, part of the United States. In the 1820s, the first of many traders crossed the mountains on the Santa Fe Trail, hoping to make a fortune selling manufactured goods in the small city of Santa Fe or further south in the city of Chihuahua. In 1846 soldiers followed in the tracks of the traders. Dressed in uniforms of the United States army, they came down through Raton and Glorieta passes to claim the territory of New Mexico for a rapidly expanding American nation. Almost 20 years later, other men tried to take over the Southwest. The country they fought for this time was the Confederate States of America. Their defeat at the small but decisive Battle of Glorieta Pass ensured that New Mexico, Arizona, and California would stay in the Union. ... [Read More]

CVO Menu - Capulin Volcano, New Mexico
If traveling by car , the monument is located 33 miles east of Raton, New Mexico, via U. S. Highway 64/87 and 58miles west of Clayton, New Mexico, via the same highway. The park entrance is off New Mexico Highway 325, 3miles north of the town of Capulin. Interstate 25 connects Raton with Denver, Colorado, from the north,and Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico, from the south. ...

Capulin Mountain ... Sierra Grande ... Barella, Raton, and Johnson Mesas ... ... [Read More]

Online guide to the continental Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Raton basin
Online guide to the continental Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Raton basin, Colorado and New Mexico Sites to See ... [Read More]

Online guide to the continental Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Raton basin
Leaving Walsenburg, the route continues on Pierre Shale for about the next 37 mi, past the town of Aguilar to Trinidad. Aguilar is located adjacent to coal-bearing Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks of the Raton basin. These rocks ( Fig. 2 ), which define the eastern limits of the Walsenburg and Trinidad coal fields, are marked by abrupt cliffs formed by the Trinidad Sandstone (Upper Cretaceous). Overlying the Trinidad are the coal bearing Vermejo Formation (Upper Cretaceous) and the Raton Formation (Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene). The Raton is overlain by the Paleocene Poison Canyon Formation. The Dawson Arkose of the Denver Basin is roughly equivalent to the Poison Canyon Formation of the Raton basin, and the Denver Formation is approximately equivalent to the Raton Formation. The scenery along this part of the route is dominated by the Spanish Peaks to the west. The Spanish Peaks, in part held up by intrusives, are well known for many dikes that radiate from them for several miles. The ... [Read More]

New Mexico - Forecast discussions
FXUS65 KABQ 182015AFDABQAREA FORECAST DISCUSSIONNATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM215 PM MDT MON JUL 18 2005.DISCUSSION...MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL CONTINUE TO BE EXTENT ANDPLACEMENT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO NEXT WEEK. LONG RANGEFORECAST HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON TRACK OF REMAINS OF HURRICANE EMILY.A SLOWER START TO CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON AS ECHOES JUST STARTINGNOW OVER THE WRN AND CNTRL MOUNTAINS. MID LEVEL DRYING AS SEEN ON WVSATELLITE...AND WARMING ALOFT AS WELL...HAS HELD UP INITIATION OFSTORMS SO FAR OVER THE W AND N. MEANWHILE LOW LEVELS ARE PLENTY MOISTFROM THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY ON E. THE BACK DOOR COLD FRONT MOVED INTOTHE NE THIS AM BUT GROUND TO A HALT THIS PM. THE NE HAS STABILIZED ABIT WITH LAPSE RATES ONLY AROUND 7 DEG C/KM IN THE 700 TO 500 MBLAYER. HIGHER LAPSE RATES OUT W BUT LESS MOISTURE TO WORK WITH. THEMIXED SIGNALS MAKE FOR A TOUGH CALL LATE THIS PM INTO TONIGHT ONEXTENT OF CONVECTION. WITH A FEW MORE HOURS OF SUNSHINE AND HEATINGBELIEVE WE WILL GET MO ... [Read More]

Online guide to the continental Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Raton basin
Proceeding on south from Raton Pass, follow the route of the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail (Scott, 1986) and pass back down section through the three zones of the Raton Formation. Thick coal beds are exposed in roadcuts in the upper coal zone and stacked channel sandstones make up the barren zone toward the bottom of the pass. The lower coal zone of the Raton and the Vermejo Formation are present in roadcuts near the mouth of the valley. The Trinidad Sandstone crops out just before the Raton exit. The town of Raton is built on the Pierre Shale. Enter Raton. ... [Read More]

CVO Menu - New Mexico Volcanoes and Volcanics
-- Geographic Setting, Geologic and Eruptive History --Aden Crater ...Afton Basalt Flow ...Bandelier National Monument ...Black Mountain ...Capulin Cinder Cone ...Hunt's Hole ...Kilbourne Hole ...Mora Volcanic Field ...Ocate Volcanic Field ...Potrillo Volcanic Field ...Quemado Volcanic Field ...Raton - Clayton Volcanic Field ...Red Hill ...Santo Tomas ...Taos Plateau Volcanic Field ...Zuni-Bandera Volcanic Field ...Zuni Salt Lake Maar ... ... [Read More]

CVO Website - New Mexico Volcanics - Capulin
The Raton-Clayton volcanic field , in the extreme northeastern corner of New Mexico , is Pliocene to Holocene in age. Approximately 120 basaltic to nephelinitic cinder cones ,ranging in age from greater than 1 million to 2,300 years old, are distributedthroughout the field, with a concentration of feldspathoidal compositions nearthe town of Des Moines. Many cones have associated lava flows. Perhaps themost impressive cone is the youngest, which is fortunately protected as Capulin National Monument . The rim of this steep-sided cinder cone isapproximately 1.7 kilometers in circumference, and stands 305 meters high, witha crater depth of 125 meters. A variety of andesitic and dacitic volcanic necksand domes also occurs throughout the field; Sierra Grande , a large stratovolcano 15 kilometers in diameter and 600 meters in height, is composed ofnumerous flows of a distinctive and homogeneous andesite. ... Raton is approximately 125 kilometers east of Taos, New Mexico. U.S. Highway ... [Read More]

CVO Menu - America's Volcanic Past - New Mexico
The Raton-Clayton volcanic field, in the extreme northeastern corner of New Mexico, is Pliocene to Holocene in age. Approximately 120 basaltic to nephelinitic cinder cones, ranging in age from greater than 1 million to 2,300 years old, are distributed throughout the field, with a concentration of feldspathoidal compositions near the town of Des Moines. Many cones have associated lava flows. Perhaps the most impressive cone is the youngest, which is fortunately protected as Capulin National Monument. The rim of this steep-sided cinder cone is approximately 1.7 kilometers in circumference, and stands 305 meters high, with a crater depth of 125 meters. A variety of andesitic and dacitic volcanic necks and domes also occurs throughout the field; Sierra Grande, a large stratovolcano 15 kilometers in diameter and 600 meters in height, is composed of numerous flows of a distinctive and homogeneous andesite.Raton is approximately 125 kilometers east of Taos, New Mexico. U. S. Highway 64 cuts d ... [Read More]