Geologic Tour of Mount Taylor Composite Volcano

Local geologists Fraser and Cathy Goff and PEEC are offering an exciting two-day field trip to examine the geology of Mount Taylor volcano, just northeast of Grants, NM. The outing begins on Saturday, July 12 and ends on Sunday, July 13. This trip is perfect for those with an interest in geology and natural science. Non-geologists are particularly welcome.

Mount Taylor is an extinct composite volcano of the Mount St. Helens type that formed roughly 3.7 to 1.3 million years ago and is New Mexico’s second largest volcano after the Valles Caldera (about 1.25 million years ago). Mount Taylor forms a broad conical highland cresting at an elevation of 11,301 ft and is surrounded by several lava-capped mesas at elevations of roughly 8000 ft. Most volcanic rocks form lava domes and lava flows ranging in composition from rhyolite to basalt. Our 2-day field trip will examine the geology and volcanology of Mount Taylor and surrounding areas.

Field Trip Itinerary:
Day 1 (Saturday): Participants will meet at Los Alamos Nature Center on Friday just before 7 AM. The group will leave PEEC at 7 AM because the drive to the first stop on Day 1 is about 3.5 hours. We will make a brief stop in Grants to gas up before heading to Stop 1. After several more stops round the southwestern volcano flank we will return to Grants to stay at a local motel and have dinner.
Day 2 (Sunday): After breakfast, the group will head toward the summit of Mount Taylor and surroundings for a few more stops, then return to Los Alamos and PEEC, hopefully getting in around 7 PM. Although this is primarily a geology tour, a couple of the stops will highlight rocks with interesting mineralogy and textures.

If you would like PEEC to handle your hotel reservations, please select that option while registering. If you are booking for a couple, only one attendee needs to include the room fee when purchasing tickets. The total for the night is $100. Breakfast on Saturday morning is included with the hotel stay. The deadline for this option is Thursday, June 26. We will do our best to accommodate lodging on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants can also make their own accommodations if they would like.

Participants should be prepared for the weather, wearing layers of clothing and good shoes or boots. Bring a small backpack, hat, sunscreen, gloves, snacks, and a water bottle. You may also want to bring a camera, walking stick, rock hammer, and hand lens (all optional). Pack two sack lunches (one for each day). Dinner will be on your own in Grants.

Admission: $150/PEEC member, $190/non-members. Additional $100 for PEEC to handle hotel accommodations.

About the Group Leaders:

Fraser Goff is the author of Valles Caldera: A Geologic History (2009) and was lead author of the Geologic Map of the Valles Caldera (2011). He worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for 26 years. He has worked extensively in the Valles Caldera and on about 40 geothermal systems and 15 active volcanoes worldwide during his career.

Cathy Goff is also an accomplished geologist/geochemist and has worked on geothermal and volcanic projects throughout the western USA and in Alaska, Hawaii, Latin America, Italy, and Japan. More recently, Fraser and Cathy worked for the New Mexico State Map Program and helped produce the recently published geologic map of Mount Taylor volcano near Grants (2019).
 

Photo:  View of Mount Taylor (ca. 2.5 Ma) seen from the south. The stratovolcano consists mostly of trachyandesite and trachydacite lava domes and overlies Cretaceous and Jurassic sediments of the southern San Juan Basin.