 Tremors shook the Earth, issuing a warning to Sinagua
people living nearby. Then, just over nine hundred years ago, a blink
of an eye on the geologic time scale, Sunset Crater Volcano rumbled to
life. Fiery lava spewed up from a central vent, drawing molten rock from
ten kilometers beneath the surface. Fountains of glowing liquid lava rose
hundreds of meters into the air, falling to Earth as cinders. Remarkably well-preserved
evidence of Sunset Crater Volcano’s sudden birth is now protected in the
National Monument. We would love to share it with you! Come explore our
colorful cinder cone on a virtual field
trip. We will take you along a trail that winds across one of the
frozen rivers of lava that gushed from Sunset Crater Volcano’s rocky flanks.
While you're visiting, why not step into our visitor center to see our
seismograph record
of Arizona’s earthquakes? Are you looking for 'just the facts'? Click
on the Sunset Volcano button to get
the details you're looking for. |
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