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Draft:Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Coordinates: 35°21′56.0″N 111°30′02.3″W / 35.365556°N 111.500639°W / 35.365556; -111.500639
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Sunset Crater

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is a List of national monuments of the United States. The centerpiece of the park is Sunset Crater, a volcano named for the red and yellow cinders at its rim that resemble the colors of a sunset.

The volcano formed from a series of eruptions between 1040 and 1100 AD, creating a cinder cone with lava, scoria, and ash. Sunset Crater is the most recent and least eroded of the 600 volcanoes in the San Francisco Volcanic Field.

Plants that quickly absorb nutrients from water were the first to return after the eruption, leading to the development of a soil where other plants could survive. For the past 250 years, trees such as pinyon pines and ponderosa pines have been growing. However, half of the area affected by the eruption remains unvegetated.

Ponderosa Pine

In the cracks of the lava, insects, spiders, lizards, and rodents live. Bats can be seen at night, and various birds visit the area for food, including Steller's jays, pinyon jays, Black-chinned hummingbird, Nuthatch, Common raven, Corvidae, Golden eagle, and several Accipiter.

The pine forests around the volcanic crater are home to mule deer, elk, pronghorns, red foxes, and coyotes. Tree squirrels, cotton-tail rabbits, and porcupines are also present.

In 1928, a film studio proposed blasting Sunset Crater for a landslide scene, but public outcry led to efforts to protect the crater. On May 26, 1930, Sunset Crater was designated a National Monument by President Herbert Hoover. In 1990, the name was changed to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. The park attracts over 200,000 visitors annually, who can view the crater from a trail at its base. The crater itself has been off-limits to climbers since 1974 due to erosion caused by hikers.

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35°21′56.0″N 111°30′02.3″W / 35.365556°N 111.500639°W / 35.365556; -111.500639