I was curious to see how the Meteor Crater compared to a volcanic
crater so I drove up to Sunset Crater Volcano to check it out. Well, I really couldn’t get the same view
point from a rim like I had at the Meteor crater since I would have had to climb
up a very slippery slope full of cinders.
Never the less I did get a good feel for the volcanoes that erupted in
this area. There were lava flows and
cinders everywhere. The last eruption was
900 years ago.
The Ponderosa pines made every effort to establish them in
this hostile environment.
Even flowers gave it a go.
I made a stop at Doney Mountain to climb the overlook and
spotted a Gopher Snake at the start of the trail. They grow to a length of 3-5
feet. Even though it is not venomous it
did give me a start until I realized it was not a rattlesnake.
Hopi people believe that their ancestors’ spirits, the Katsinas, travel from the San Francisco
Peaks to the Hopi villages and back each year via Palatsmo (Sunset Crater) and Bonito Park. The Pueblo of Zuni considers Sunset Crater
part of a much larger sacred landscape. The Navajo people believe the cinder
cones surrounding Dook’o’oostiid (San
Francisco Peaks), including Dzit k’idzitsooi
(Sunset Crater), are the guardians or protectors of the peaks. This drawing on one of the signs attempts to symbolize those
beliefs.
Beautiful San Francisco Peaks in the distance.
1 comment:
Very interesting posts; nice to see some info and pix on geology!
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