Cabezon Peak's dramatic volcanic formation is one of the most well known landmarks in northwest New Mexico. With an elevation of 7,785 feet, the Peak is part of the Mount Taylor volcanic field and is the largest of 50 volcanic necks rising from the Rio Puerco Valley. Dramatic basaltic cliffs on Cabezon provide a close view of an ancient volcano. To the south, the land rises sharply to Mesa Chivato, with cool pine forests and elevations over 8,000 feet. Mesa Chivato is composed of basaltic lava flows that erupted from Mount Taylor 3.3 to 1.5 million years ago. The colorful Cretaceous shoreline and marine rock layers expose lava cap ends and the elevation drops quickly to the Arroyo Chico to the north. The Rio Puerco flows through Cabezon Country, passing close by Cerro Cuate before making a dramatic bend to the south. Here is a link to a decent blog post about Cabezon. In relation to Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, here is a picture from Google Earth.
On our way out to Cabezon, we did some exploring and found an old rock house. We are not sure of the date of the house. It did have modern generators and a modern(ish) refrigerator discarded out front. Overall the house was still in good shape.
Cabezon is a neat sight, and definitely the largest formation. Here is another one on the road to Cabezon.
Cabezon from a distance.
A beautiful New Mexico winter day.
End of the road.
