Capulin Volcano National Monument

Capulin Volcano National Monument, in northeastern New Mexico, is a 793-acre site established in 1916 as Capulin Mountain National Monument and renamed in 1987. Capulin Mountain is an extinct volcanic cinder cone that last erupted 4,000 years ago. A visitor center and nature trail circle the 1,500-foot rim of the volcano for a look inside the 400-foot crater. Rising more than 1,000 feet from a level plain, the volcano supports a lush growth of grasses, trees, and shrubs. Issuing forth from its base is a frozen sea of barren, jagged lava from the earliest stages of the volcano's growth.