Mount Taylor (New Mexico)
Mount Taylor (Navajo: Tsoodził, Navajo pronunciation: [tsʰòːtsɪ̀ɬ]) is a dormant stratovolcano in northwest New Mexico, northeast of the town of Grants.[3] It is the high point of the San Mateo Mountains[a] and the highest point in the Cibola National Forest.
This article is about the volcano in New Mexico. For other uses, see Mount Taylor.
It was renamed in 1849 for then-president Zachary Taylor. Previously, it was called Cebolleta (tender onion) by the Spaniards; the name persists as one name for the northern portion of the San Mateo Mountains, a large mesa. The Navajo, for whom the mountain is sacred, still call it Turquoise Mountain (Tsoodził).
Mount Taylor is largely forested with some meadows, rising above the desert below. The mountain is heavily eroded to the east. Its slopes were an important source of lumber for neighboring pueblos.
Mount Taylor volcanic field[edit]
Mount Taylor volcano is a prominent volcano that is part of a larger volcanic field that trends to the northeast.[4] The Mount Taylor volcanic field includes Mesa Chivato to the northeast and Grants Ridge to the southwest.[5][4] The Mount Taylor volcanic field is composed primarily of silica-poor (mafic) lava (with 80% by volume), most of which is trachybasalt. Basalt and basanite are present in much smaller amounts.[6] The field straddles the extensional transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and the Rio Grande rift.[5] The largest volcanic plug in the volcanic field is Cabezon Peak, which rises nearly 2,000 feet above the surrounding plain.
Topography[edit]
The mountain is heavily eroded to the east, exposing a large amphitheater that is approximately 5 square miles.[10] Estimates vary about how high the mountain was at its highest. An extreme estimate places it near 4,270 meters (14,000 ft), but it is more likely the volcano was never higher than 3,800 meters (12,000 ft).[11] The mountain is surrounded by a great volume of volcanic debris, but the debris field and the natural amphitheater in the central part of the mountain are attributed to erosion rather than a late stage explosion similar to Valles Caldera, Mount St. Helens or the San Francisco Peaks.[12] Downcutting has been great enough to expose Cretaceous sedimentary rocks at the core of the cone.[13]
Recreation[edit]
Mount Taylor is the site of the Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon, an endurance event which has been held at this location for over thirty years, with the 2019 event being the 36th. The event includes bicycling, running, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing for 43 miles from the town of Grants to the summit and back. Since 2012 there has also been a 50-kilometer running race on Mount Taylor, sponsored by the Albuquerque Roadrunners club.[21] Competitors who complete the 50 km run in the fall and the Quadrathlon in the following winter are known as 'Doublers' and earn a special award.[22]
Notable events[edit]
On 3 September 1929, the Transcontinental Air Transport Ford 5-AT-B Tri-Motor City of San Francisco struck Mount Taylor during a thunderstorm while on a scheduled passenger flight from Albuquerque Airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Los Angeles, California, killing all eight people on board.[25]
On 7 April 1961, B-52B (53‑0380, call sign "Ciudad Juarez") from the 95th Bombardment Wing out of Biggs AFB was accidentally shot down by the launch of an AIM-9 Sidewinder from a F-100A Super Sabre (tail number 53-1662) from the 188th Tactical Fighter Squadron, New Mexico Air National Guard fighter jet during a practice intercept. The missile struck the engine pylon on the B-52 resulting in separation of the wing. The aircraft crashed on Mount Taylor, New Mexico with three of the eight crew on board killed. An electrical fault in the firing circuit caused the inadvertent launch of the missile.[c][29][30]