Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Coconino County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)
The Birth of a Mountain
About 1,000 years ago, something spectacular happened in the lives of local Native peoples. Perhaps they first observed a change in animal behavior. Maybe they noticed the ground warming. Then the tremors increased in number and intensity. By the time the earth cracked open, people had their belongings packed. What followed impacted life profoundly in this corner of the Southwest.
A 1,000-foot-high (305m) cinder cone, known today as Sunset Crater, grew where open parks and forests had been. Volcanic ash buried about 64,000 acres of potential farmland. Many people lost their homes and livelihoods. Stories symbolizing the significance of the eruption were told and retold. Word of the phenomenon may have spread across the continent.
Today, the area's American Indian groups consider this a sacred landscape where life was cleansed, where a connection exists to the world below and the universe above...a landscape that cautions, reminds, and teaches.
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This trail explores the unique environment created by a volcanic eruption. Your options include a short accessible loop or a longer moderate walk to the base of Sunset Crater. Guide books are in the dispenser to your right.
Erected by National Park Service .
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Natural Features.
Location. 35° 21.782′ N, 111° 31.058′ W. Marker is in Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Arizona, in Coconino County. Marker is along the Lava Flow Trail, about 200 feet east of the parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Flagstaff AZ 86004, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 12 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Life and Landscape Transformed (within shouting distance of this marker); The Power to Symbolize (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); As Powerful as a Volcano (about 300 feet away); Changes to Come (about 500 feet away); "The Peaks" (approx. 2.2 miles away); Geological Infant (approx. 2.2 miles away); Bushmaster Park (approx. 11.2 miles away); The Museum Club (approx. 11.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.
Also see . . . Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. (Submitted on April 14, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on April 14, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 743 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 14, 2011, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.