It's a butte: Visiting the Rio Puerco Valley volcano necks is like landing on another planet
David Ryan, and his dogs Sparky, left, and Sami, amid the ruins of a settlement that dates back 1,000 years to the height of the Chaco Canyon culture. These ruins, in the Rio Puerco Valley off U.S. 550, offer a splendid place to view the area’s many volcanic necks.
Cerro Santa Clara, left, and Cerro de Guadalupe, peaks in the Rio Puerco Valley, are featured on the New Mexico centennial stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
Arroyo Chico is among the many arroyos erosion cut deep into the landscape of the Rio Puerco Valley.
Summiting Cabezon Peak is not for the faint hearted. From the trailhead, the rocky trail gains 500 feet in elevation in a half mile.
A juniper stump stands out in stark relief against the blue sky and rugged landscape of the Rio Puerco Valley.
There is something otherworldly about the spare beauty of the terrain where the Rio Puerco and Arroyo Chico converge.
Cabezon Peak is the largest of the volcanic necks in the Rio Puerco Valley. Cabezon translates to “big head” in English.
David Ryan, and his dogs Sparky, left, and Sami, hike along Sharks Tooth Ridge in the Rio Puerco Valley. Ryan is the author of “Wandering in the Clear Light of New Mexico.”
David Ryan, author of “Wandering in the Clear Light of New Mexico, hikes a trail near Cabezon Peak in the Rio Puerco Valley. Ryan’s book is a guide to special places in New Mexico, from Carlsbad Caverns in the southeast to Chaco Canyon in the northwest.
