When was Mount Taylors last eruption?
The best estimate is that it last erupted about 2.5 million years ago (mya). However, estimates range to as recently as 1.5 mya. It is a stratovolcano meaning that it has been built up by relatively gentle lava flows, similar to Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mount Taylor was named for President Zachary Taylor in 1849. It is called Tsoodził in Navajo which means turquoise mountain because it appears quite bluish from a distance. At 11,305 feet, it is the highest mountain in the Cibola Natioonal forest and one of the highest in New Mexico.