Clabber Top Hill

Clabber Top Hill:

North of Gage (visible from i10), New Mexico, Grandmother Mountain(s) represents a cluster of over 10 conical peaks of varying height that rise up from the surrounding flat desert terrain within the western edge of the Mimbres Basin. ~9 miles to the east is another related and smaller feature, Clabber Top Hill. Geologic literature pertaining to these peaks is limited.

Grandmother Mountain to the west likely represents the remains of what was a center of volcanic activity (Darton, 1916). Clabber Top Hill appears to be the weathered remains of related vent(s). The volcanic rock extruded from the vent(s) is a latite(?) lava that varies in shades of grays (medium light) that can also vary with hints of light yellow and light browns (Thorman and Drewes, 1979). The volcanic rocks on and around the Clabber Top Hill appear to be mostly aphanitic fine grain, with sparse vesicles, and most crystals seen were extremely small (smaller than grains of sand). Some samples show hints of flow banding and some lower exposures along the eastern slope of Clabber Top Hill appear brecciated. The latite(?) is estimated to have been extruded sometime during the Eocene or Oligocene epoch; around the 30-million-year range, give or take (Thorman and Drewes, 1979). This rock makes up most of what is seen at Clabber Top Hill and those found at Grandmother Mountain.

Because of their geologic relationship, I have included Clabber Top Hill in the Grandmother Mountains series.

You can obtain State Trust Lands recreational permit at:

www.nmstatelands.org

References:

Darton, N. H., 1916, Geology and underground water in Luna County, New Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey, Bulletin 618, 188 pp.

Julyan, Robert. The Mountains of New Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006.

Thorman, C. H. and Drewes, H., 1979, Geologic Map of parts of the Grandmother Mountain East and Grandmother Mountain West Quadrangles, Luna County, New Mexico: US Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1088, scale 1:24,000.

Photos and videos were taken by Alexander F. O'Connor.

Soundtrack by Alexander F. O'Connor.

Video produced using Corel VideoStudio Ultimate 2023 by 2023 Corel Corporation.

Music production, mixing, and editing made possible using Music Maker (64-bit) Version 33.0.0.6 by MAGIX Software GmbH.

Full trip report:

https://peakbagger.com/climber/ascent...

This series is dedicated to the loving memory of my grandmother, Paula M. O'Connor.

Thank you for watching.