The Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Arizona is located 15 miles north of Flagstaff, where the nearest airport can be found. The monument is 2 miles off of U.S. Highway 89. It is operated by the U.S. National Parks Service
The environment around the volcano is a laboratory where life has slowly been returning for less than one thousand years. Small oases of evergreens have already reappeared, creating homes for returning animal populations.
Between the years 1040 and 1100 AD, a chain of eruptions occurred in the Southwestern United States, the Sunset Crater Volcano, a cinder cone, is said to have been born from the wave of seismic activity and volcanic that shook the area at that time. The eruption creating this volcano is dated as the most recent eruption in the area. The volcano's name "Sunset Crater'' is thought to be due to the red and yellow colors on its cone, appearing to reflect a permanent sunset.
Hopi Zuni and Navajo people live nearby and maintain stories of the volcano eruption in their stories and traditions. The immediate area of the park had been inhabited and farmed by local natives before the area was rendered barren by natural events.
The National Monument was established in 1930 in the wake of a 1929 attempt to dynamite the volcano in order to create an avalanche during the filming of a movie.
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Arizona encompasses more than 3,000 acres of the Colorado Plateau.
Restrooms, picnic tables and a bookstore can be found at the park's visitor center as well as interactive exhibits on natural history and geology in relation to the volcano and the area. There is a camping ground across from the visitor center that is run by the U.S. Forest Service.
Discovery Packs are lent out by the visitor center that include binoculars, magnifying glasses, written guides and activities to help families become familiar with the park and to encourage scientific investigation among the young. The park also has materials prepared for field trips from local schools.
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Arizona receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. It is one of 3 National Monuments in the Flagstaff area.
In the summer months interpretive talks and guided hikes at the park are regularly scheduled and led by Forest Rangers.
The visitor center and part of the Lava Flow Trail are wheelchair accessible.
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Arizona closes annually for December 25th. The park is open from 8 AM to 5 PM in May through October and 9 AM to 5 PM from November through April.
Pets are not allowed in the visitor center or on park trails. They must be kept leashed and be cleaned up after.
Visitors should have plenty of water and be cautious where they walk both to protect brittle lava as well as themselves as the ash is slippery and easily provokes falls.
