Taos Plateau volcanic field

Rio Grande Gorge

The Taos Plateau volcanic field is an area of extensive volcanism in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. It is the second largest volcanic field in the Rio Grande Rift, spreading over 7,000 km². The age of most of the vents and associated lava flows in the field is estimated to be between 1.8 and 4 million years, with a few 22-million-year-old vents. The composition of the lavas varies from tholeiitic basalt to rhyolite. Landforms include sheet flows, cinder cones, and shield volcanoes. The sheet flows are well-exposed in the Rio Grande Gorge carved by the Rio Grande. The highest point of the field is San Antonio Mountain at 10,908 feet (3,325 m).

Notable vents

Name	Elevation		Location	Last eruption
	meters	feet	Coordinates
San Antonio Mountain	3,325	10,908	36°51′34″N 106°01′7.3″W / 36.85944°N 106.018694°W	-
Ute Mountain	3,076	10,093	36°56′14″N 105°41′02″W / 36.93722°N 105.68389°W	-
Cerro de la Olla	2,887	9,475	36°45′21″N 105°47′55″W / 36.75583°N 105.79861°W	-
Cerro del Aire	2,750	9,045	36°43′08″N 105°55′03″W / 36.71889°N 105.91750°W	-
Cerro Chiflo	2,736	8,978	36°44′54″N 105°42′35″W / 36.74833°N 105.70972°W	-
Guadalupe Mountain North	2,688	8,820	36°44′27″N 105°37′36″W / 36.74083°N 105.62667°W	-
Guadalupe Mountain South	2,658	8,722	36°43′00″N 105°38′56″W / 36.71667°N 105.64889°W	-
Cerro Montoso	2,638	8,655	36°40′24″N 105°46′04″W / 36.67333°N 105.76778°W	-

References

• Wood, Charles A.; Kienle, Jürgen, eds. (1990). Volcanoes of North America. Cambridge University Press. pp. 290–292. ISBN 0-521-43811-X.
• Volcanoes of New Mexico: Taos Plateau Volcanic Field

External links

• Documentary: Sleeping Monsters, Sacred Fires: Volcanos Of New Mexico

Coordinates: 36°50′N 105°50′W / 36.83°N 105.83°W

Neogene Period
Miocene	Pliocene
Aquitanian | Burdigalian Langhian | Serravallian Tortonian | Messinian	Zanclean | Piacenzian

Quaternary
Pleistocene	Holocene
Early | Middle | Late	Preboreal | Boreal | Atlantic | Subboreal | Subatlantic