Volcano at Sunset Crater
Sunset Crater National Monument
SUNSET CRATER is a national monument in Arizona, created in 1930 to preserve a notable volcanic crater. The monument covers an area of 3,040 acres in the Coconino National Forest and contains Sunset Mountain, an extinct volcano which last erupted about the end of the 9th century. The volcano is of unusual interest because of the character of the sulfuric rock at its summit. The rock, through processes of decomposition and water staining, has become reddish in color, making the mountain appear as if bathed in the rays of the setting sun. Also of interest in the area are ice caves and large cinder and lava fields.
