Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Visited: Dec 2018

Nearby city: Flagstaff, AZ

When one thinks of Arizona...one thinks of deserts, the Grand Canyon, maybe the Phoenix Suns. Volcanoes are probably not high on the list. 😀

However, just north of Flagstaff, a cinder cone rises among the San Francisco Peaks. This cinder cone, known as Sunset Crater, underwent a large volcanic eruption in approximately 1085 A.D. The volcano is extinct now.

This area was established as a national monument in 1930. The park is not large, and can be easily explored in an hour to two-hour visit. We took a short loop-trail (about 1.6 miles) at the base of Sunset Crater and through the Bonito Lava Flow. This is a nice, pleasant hike.

The snow-capped peaks are the San Francisco Mountains. The tallest mountain you see here is Humphreys Peak. At 12,637 ft, Humphreys Peak is the highest point in the state of Arizona.

Again, this is worth a quick stop. It lies just off the main highway (US Hwy 89) heading north out of Flagstaff. For more info: https://www.nps.gov/sucr/index.htm