Did you know that Northern Arizona is full of volcanoes? Neither did I.
Northern Arizona is surprisingly mountainous. Before I moved here, I never would have thought there were so many mountains here. I pictured mostly flat plains of scrub, changing to Ponderosa Pines the further north you go. Boy, was I happily surprised driving on Interstate 40 to suddenly see some seriously tall mountains.
The San Francisco Peaks are located near Flagstaff.
The chain of mountains going through this area is the San Francisco Peaks, which includes Humphreys Peak, the tallest in Arizona. This mountain range is part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field, that covers 1,800 sq mi. It appears that the field is part of a geologic hotspot, located within a tectonic plate. The newest volcano is on the east side of the field, with Sunset Crater being the youngest at 1,000 years old.
NASA The San Francisco Volcanic Field. Flagstaff is on the left side, the San Francisco Peaks on top and the rest of the field on the bottom, which has over 600 volcanoes.
While the San Francisco Peaks are now dormant, the volcanic field is still active, geologically speaking. There could be another eruption some day since Sunset Crater, a baby in geologic time, only erupted 1,000 years ago.
Cedar Mountain, a cinder cone seen from Grand Canyon’s Desert View area.
All those are volcanoes. As seen from the Cinder Hills Overlook at Sunset Crater.
A great place to go explore Arizona’s volcanoes is right of the center of the volcanic field at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.
Arizona’s baby volcano, Sunset Crater.
Sunset Crater erupted between the growing seasons of 1064-1065. (Got to love the accuracy of tree-ring dates.) There may have been another eruption around 1085. The eruption caused the local population to retreat for some time, but when they returned, they found more fertile soil than before. The main crater was responsible for a couple of very large lava flows which are fun to explore.
Part of the Bonito lava flow. I would not walk through that without closed shoes. Even the trails have sharp little volcanic rock that gets into your shoes when you hike. Tip: do not wear sandals here.
Sunset Crater and its lava flow. Nature still tries to grow through the volcanic rock.
While you can’t hike up Sunset Crater anymore (previous trails scared the surface and you can still see them), there is a hike up the nearby Lennox Crater.
Looking down into the shallow Lennox Crater, with the San Francisco Peaks beyond. The black dirt is actually small pieces of very sharp volcanic rock. It was like walking in sharp sand.
I found Sunset Crater really interesting. There are not that many places where you can play in the remains of a recent volcano. But beware, that black volcanic soil gets warm very quick.
Heading to or from Flagstaff, you get this wonderful view of Sunset Crater.
Check out my next update where I explore some truly awesome cliff dwellings nearby Sunset Crater!
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Check out all my other posts on the great state of Arizona!
