Cabezon Peak

Cabezon Peak is a large volcanic plug that is a prominent feature in northwestern New Mexico. It rises to 7,785 feet in elevation. Cabezon Peak is two miles south of the old "ghost town" of Cabezon and the Rio Puerco. This volcanic neck is formed of basalt and is part of the Mount Taylor volcanic field. A volcanic neck or plug is formed when magma from an existing volcano solidifies in the pipe or neck and the surrounding sediment is eroded away. Marine Cretaceous rocks of the Mancos shale and Point Lookout Sandstone are exposed around the base of Cabezon Peak. Cabezon means “big head” in Spanish. One Navaho myth holds that it is the head of a giant killed by gods.

Cabezon Peak in northwestern New Mexico

References

Cabezon Peak Wilderness Study Area http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/rio_puerco/cabezon_peak.html

Chronic, Halka, 1987, Roadside Geology of New Mexico: Roadside Geology Series, Mountain Press Publishing Company.

Dictionary of Geological Terms, Anchor Press/Doubleday, third edition

Julyan, Robert, 1998, The Place Names of New Mexico: The University of New Mexico Press, revised edition.

Volcanic plug. (2010, June 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:56, June 26, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Volcanic_plug&oldid=366046542