The Tooth of Time is a geological feature on the

Philmont Scout Ranch Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, near the village of Cimarron. Donated by oil baron Waite Phillips, the ranch is owned by Scouting America. It is a high adventure base where crews of Scouts ...

located southwest of

Cimarron, New Mexico Cimarron is a Village (United States), village in Colfax County, New Mexico, Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, which sits on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population was 792 at the 2020 United States census, 20 ...

, United States, and is one of Philmont's most popular sights. It is an

igneous intrusion In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...

porphyry formed in the

Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...

Period of the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...

Era some 22-40 million years ago.

Santa Fe Trail

The Tooth rises prominently from the valley floor, some below, creating a sheer vertical face unable to support substantial plant life. Both its pinkish-gray color and its unusual shape make it a particularly notable geological landmark. It was well known among the overland traders on the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...

, who used it to mark the final seven-day push to

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

Geology

The Tooth was formed when

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

from deep within the Earth rose through older rock layers and slowly cooled. Over many thousands of years, the older

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

eroded and left the harder igneous formation. The sedimentary rock acted as a mold for the intrusive magma, causing it to harden and cool where the sedimentary rock was strongest. The Tooth sits atop a prominent ridge created through the process mentioned above.

Climbing

upright=1.3, alt=Panoramic view from Tooth of Time, Panoramic view from top of the Tooth of Time. The Tooth of Time is located on the east end of Tooth of Time Ridge, while Shaefer's Peak is located on the west end of the ridge. A trail extends about 3.5 miles from Shaefer's Pass to the Tooth Ridge campsite, located at the base of the Tooth of Time, with a short scramble ascending the Tooth. Another trail, known as the Stockade Trail, extends along the steeper back side and terminates at an animal

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

along a road.Tooth of Time : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost
/ref> The first roped ascent of the main face was completed in July 1972 by Lee Davis, Rick Barrett, and Randy Wright.Climbing Magazine, Sept/Oct 1972

References

External links

Official website of Philmont Scout Ranch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tooth Of Time category:igneous intrusions category:landforms of Colfax County, New Mexico

category:rock formations of New Mexico category:Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe Trail

Geology

Climbing

See also

References

External links