If you had flown over the desert southwest of Las Cruces 80,000 years ago, you might have been in for a surprise. Welling up from deep beneath the surface, 2,000-degree magma reached the groundwater, flashing it instantly to steam. Unable to escape, the steam exploded, blowing out the maar volcano we call Kilbourne Hole - Not all at once, but a series of explosions left the crater a mile and a half long and a mile wide. Read more