Taos Plateau volcanic field, Volcanic field in northern New Mexico, United States.
The Taos Plateau volcanic field is a large zone of cinder cones, lava flows, and dark basalt surfaces spread across northern New Mexico. The terrain shows several phases of volcanic activity, all of which remain visible across the open landscape.
Volcanic activity in this region started roughly 22 million years ago, making it one of the oldest known phases of the Rio Grande Rift. The most recent lava flows seen across the surface formed between about 1.8 and 4 million years ago.
The Pueblo peoples of the region have long seen this landscape as part of their connection to the land, not just as rock and soil. The dark basalt surfaces and the fertile ground they helped create still shape how local communities relate to the place they live in.
The dark basalt surfaces are easy to see from Highway 285 near San Antonio, where the road runs close to the lava flows. Anyone planning to walk across the terrain should wear sturdy shoes, as the ground is rocky and uneven throughout.
The Rio Grande Gorge cuts right through this volcanic field, exposing layers of basalt along its walls that act like a natural cross-section of millions of years of geology. Visitors standing at the rim can read the different eruption phases directly in the rock face below them.
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