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| Little Red ( Dry Lake) Cinder Cone |
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| The crater is around 100 feet deep |
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| Nearly six foot tall barrel cactus |
I decided I wanted to hike to an "unbreached" cinder cone in the West Potrillo Mountains. Many of the cinder cones in this region are blown- out on one side, or otherwise eroded so that they don't have a perfectly surrounded depression in the center. Some do, however, and so I got onto my topo map software and then Google Earth and found reasonably accessible one about 4 miles west of Mt.Aden, which is located right along the Southern Pacific south of I-10. There are a maze of roads out in this area, some are good, some pretty rough, and some long forgotten. So, if you're not handy with maps or a GPS, it can be little confusing. I consider myself pretty handy, and I still got off on the wrong road for a mile or so.The hike wasn't particularly exciting; crossing over desert arroyos and flats that were once sand dunes. I saw many jackrabbits. They all looked plump and healthy. I also saw several different raptors, including what I thought was a peregrine falcon. The terrain near the cone is pretty rough with volcanic cinders and rocks. It's about a 200 foot, steep, climb up the cone. From the rim, there was a good view of Aden Crater and lava flow, as well as Mount Riley and the higher peaks of the West Potrillos. The highlight of the trip was coming upon the tallest barrel cactus I've seen in Dona Ana County. It was over my head, and standing all alone in a sea of creosote. Not the most interesting hike, but a beautiful day.
Note: There is a much shorter hike via a different driving route and starting point to the Cinder Cone as detailed in our book " Exploring Organ Mountains- Desert Peaks National Monument.
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| Christmas cactus |
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| Mt. Aden ( not to be confused with Aden Crater or Aden Cone) |
I recently learned about this and while it may not be the most fascinating places to explore, I still intend on doing so.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned volcanic rocks. Were you referring to major geological structures or are there areas where you can see scattered with lava rocks (like pumice)?
I really appreciate you documenting your experience. There isn't much input from visitors on this area!
The cinder cones are made of small bits of volcanic rock, but in this region there are maars like Kilbourne, Hunts,and Phillips Holes to the east of the West Potrillos, and Mount Riley Maar and Malpais Maar with the cinder cone field itself. There is also a small shield volcano ( Aden Crater) to the east and a large area of lava flows adjacent to it. The lava flows are relatively recent and not completely covered with vegetation so many features can be seen. I also just visited (last week, look on the blog) a small volcanic cone cluster east of the Aden Lava Flow that also has an intact cone with a lava rim. You will see lots of lava throughout this area just like a trip to Hawaii but without the palm trees sea breezes, green mountains, beaches and beautiful water. There won't be any people either.
ReplyDeleteSee also my blogs on West Tub Arroyos, West Potrillo Highpoint, Kilbourne Hole, Aden Crater and Crater( volcanic cone cluster),Cox Peak, and East Potrillo Mountains