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Obduction Backer |
Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:46 pm Posts: 847 Location: The Cleft, New Mexico
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Shorah again,
Glad to see I'm not the only New Mexico native who is interested in this! Thanks for the pics Poji Bonzai.
Yes, I'd considered Capulin but decided firstly it was way too big and secondly that the vegetation was wrong (too many trees, i.e. too far north). I've been thinking similarly to you that the DRC photo looks more like central/northern NM (particularly since there aren't any volcanic features anywhere in Eddy County, not to mention the vegetation there is too different). And no, I've never gotten around to visiting the glacier cave (but assume it's too small to qualify as the Cavern ).
I agree Top Gun, that the Petroglyph National Monument image looks the closest (though if so, then the DRC photo was either taken from the opposite side, or they published a reversed image). It looks like the image is of Vulcan Volcano, the northernmost of the Three Sisters on Albuquerque's west mesa. I like the Petroglyph area as a possibility because each of the Three Sisters (Las Tres Hermanas) has a suggestive shape:
[Reveal] Spoiler: JA Volcano--southernmost sister
[Reveal] Spoiler: Black Volcano--middle sister
[Reveal] Spoiler: Vulcan Volcano--northernmost sister
I've found a couple of very good online resources for New Mexico geology: USGS web page (no illustrations) and a very impressive geology guide for a University of Texas/Austin course apparently scheduled for this July.
The West Malpais Wilderness near Grants NM is a nice possibility, particularly the Chain of Craters area. Cerro Americano there looks promising from Google Earth, though as far as I can tell, I can't capture the exact view I found with a web link. However if you follow this link and fool around a bit with the view (the one I liked best was looking directly south where you can see a suggestive white spot that I can imagine is Zandi's silver bullet), you can see the possibilities. There are lots of other old volcanoes here, but most no longer have much of a crater in the middle.
In practical terms, the chances are fairly good that the DRC photo wasn't captured too far off the beaten path. However, the volcano is so far in the distance that its scale is hard to guess. But overall it has that familiar funny pointed tip along the left rim and a shoe-shaped slope to the right. The vegetation in the foreground is very typical for the Albuquerque area (and areas north). When the photo was taken, the sun was toward the left, so the chances are fair that the view is toward the west (depending on the time of day and season, naturally). Judging from the strength of light, it's late morning to mid-afternoon and not wintertime. Judging from the vegetation, again it's not winter, but probably late spring to early summer, before the summer monsoon rains have started (the snakebush and sage are doing well but the grasses are still yellow and dry).
Anyhow, so far I haven't found a bingo perfect match. But there are some appealing possibilities. Keep those suggestions and images coming in!! And yes, Poji Bonzai, I will let you know when I'm ready for a road trip! (I'm near the Albuquerque area, where are you??)
[[Edit: fixed Black Volcano link--wikipedia moved its location]]
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Last edited by Ainia on Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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