Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Jan. 22, 2025

This was a cinder cone volcano that blew up around 1080 spewing lava and cinders for many miles. The area was inhabited and it appears from excavated ruins, they took all their belongs so they had plenty of warning. It is surrounded by older cinder cones that have more vegetation on them now. People used to be able to walk to the crater but the paths caused bad erosion so the park service closed it in the 1970s. The scars from the old paths are still visible. I have climbed up one cinder cone in Craters of the Moon and that is enough for me. I walked the Lava flow trail to see the collapsed lava tubes, spatter spots and the very distinct edge of where it stopped.