Aden Crater

Aden Crater rises to 1,365 m in New Mexico. Cox Peak stands 1,806 m to the south, 11 miles off. The nearest named place is Headquarters Hill, a peak 3.5 miles away. El Camino Real passes 20 miles off. 22 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
Aden Crater is a small shield volcano located in Doña Ana County, about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Las Cruces, New Mexico. It is located in the northwest part of the Aden-Afton basalt field, which is part of the central area of the Potrillo volcanic field. A fossilized ground sloth, now at the Peabody Museum, was found in a fumarole roughly 100' deep located on the SE portion of the crater rim. Several ground sloth coprolites were also recovered and were stored in the Geology department at UTEP. No volcanic activity at Aden Crater is known from historic times. The most recent known activity has been dated to roughly 16,000 years ago. The flows associated with the crater can be divided into two groups. The earlier lavas were more fluid and formed most of the flows to the east and south of the crater. These flows are characterized by inflation plateaus, formed when a solid crust begins to develop around a flow and the lava inflates the more ductile upper surface of the flow. The second group of flows were less fluid and accumulated closer to the vent to form the shield of the crater.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q4682162, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 1364.6 m
How to reach it
- 19.7 mi off the El Camino Real, National
Named places within 25 miles
- Valle del Rio Park: 19.8 mi
- La Llorona Park: 20.4 mi
- Town Hall Park: 20.5 mi
- La Mesilla Historical Marker: 20.6 mi
- Mesilla Plaza: 20.9 mi
- Headquarters Hill: 3.5 mi
- Aden Mountain: 6.4 mi
- Aden Hill: 8.4 mi
- Kilbourne Hole: 8.8 mi
- Mount Riley: 10.9 mi
- Recycled Roadrunner Sculpture: 18.5 mi
- 1912 Murray Corliss Steam Engine Restoration Project: 23.0 mi
- Clock Tower at NMSU: 23.0 mi
- Weston Engine Co. Painted Post NY: 23.0 mi
- The Bent of Tau Beta Pi: 23.0 mi
- The Gadsen Museum: 21.0 mi
- Las Cruces Railroad Museum: 22.9 mi
- NMSU University Museum: 23.2 mi
- NMSU University Art Museum: 23.2 mi
- Art Museum: 23.4 mi
- World's Largest Chili Pepper: 22.2 mi
- El Milagro: 22.3 mi
- Sandia Gulch Begin: 22.3 mi
- Pat Garrett's Grave: 22.6 mi
- Sandia Gulch End: 22.6 mi
- Frank Bromilow Mall Commemorative Plaque: 23.0 mi
- Old Main: 23.0 mi
- SFC Antonio Rey "Rod" Rodriguez Memorial Interchange: 23.2 mi
- Desert Pride Accademy: 24.6 mi
- Kilbourne Hole ACEC: 8.8 mi
- Lanark: 15.8 mi
- Rest Area I-10 (West Bound): 17.9 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Aden Crater. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cox Peak | S 188° | 1,806 m | 10.9 mi |
| Mount Riley | S 188° | 1,794 m | 10.9 mi |
| Massacre Peak | NNW 331° | 1,608 m | 24.8 mi |
| Potrillo Peak | SW 221° | 1,607 m | 13.5 mi |
| Sleeping Lady Hills | N 2° | 1,549 m | 18.2 mi |
| Picacho Mountain | NNE 30° | 1,510 m | 20.9 mi |
| Reichey Butte | N 1° | 1,479 m | 16.0 mi |
| Rough and Ready Gap | N 2° | 1,455 m | 21.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:13 | 18:48 | 19:20 |
| June solstice | 06:03 | 19:42 | 20:18 |
| September equinox | 06:57 | 18:34 | 19:06 |
| December solstice | 07:06 | 16:31 | 17:09 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Mar–Jun, Sep–Nov.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 44 | 49 | 55 | 62 | 71 | 80 | 82 | 81 | 75 | 64 | 52 | 44 |
| Precip in | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — State Univ, 23 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/564951632
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