Falls Trail Tour - Stop 1

Aerial view of pyroclastic flow patterns after the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helen's in Washington

USGS Photo

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The story begins over a million years ago, with two major eruptions of the Jemez (HAY-mez) Volcano. Dense, destructive masses of hot ash, lava, and gases were ejected from the volcano and sped downhill, in what is called a pyroclastic flow. The landscape was buried in ash up to 1,000 feet deep. For the last million years, wind and water have eroded the compressed ash deposits into a series of steep-walled canyons separated by comparatively flat mesas.