On our end-of-summer vacation to Flagstaff, we drove about 1/2 hour to visit the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. A relatively young volcano, it erupted around the year 1085, which was no doubt a shock for the ancestral Puebloans who lived in the area.
Sunset Crater Volcano
The cinder cone is about 1000′ high, being one mile wide at the base, and about 2250′ from rim to rim at the top. Hiking on the volcano itself is not allowed, but one can hike along its base. We opted to experience the 1 mile long Lava Flow Trail.
One can see that the cinder cone remains very barren, especially the dryer south-facing slope seen at the right of the photo.
Lava Flow Trail
Lava Flow Trail
Lava Flow Trail
All of the surrounding hills and mountains in the area are also volcanoes! Covering an area of 2,200 square miles, known as the San Francisco Volcano Field, there are more than 600 cinder cones in the areas. Sunset Crater volcano is the newest of the field, which has been inactive since that eruption.
The area of lava shown here is called a squeeze-up, formed as lave beneath the surface oozes through a crack int he lava crust, like toothpaste being squeezed from a tube.
Lava Flow Trail
Lava Flow Trail
Shaina on the Lava Flow Trail
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Lava Flow Trail
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Lava Flow Trail
After completing our visit to Sunset Crater Volcano, we drove along the Loop Road heading to Wupatki National Monument. We stopped for lunch and enjoyed the view:
Scenery from Loop Road
This is Mormon Tea (Ephedra viridis). Mormon pioneers brewed the twigs into a drink. Ephedra is a stimulant and is often used to treat congestion and urinary problems.
Mormon Tea
It was about 21 miles from the volcano to the visitor center of Wupatki, which is in front of the amazing Wupatki Pueblo, a 104-room pueblo.
A population influx began after the 11th century eruption of nearby Sunset Crater Volcano, and by 1182, about 85-100 people lived here. The walls were assembled from local sandstone, held together with mortar. The site was abandoned around 1225.
Wupatki Pueblo
A wider angle view shows the Pueblo and the adjacent ballcourt.
Wupatki Pueblo and ballcourt
A closer view of the pueblo:
Wupatki Pueblo
This is the northernmost example of such a ballcourt.
Ballcourt at Wupatki Pueblo
We then drove about 15 minutes to Wukoki Pueblo, which was built on a sandstone outcrop:
Wukoki Pueblo
Batya at Wukoki Pueblo
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Scenery at Wukoki Pueblo
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