Sunset Crater
Arizona’s Youngest Volcano Still Glows with History
Imagine standing north of Flagstaff, Arizona a thousand years ago as the ground shook and fire erupted from the earth. Basalt magma shot skyward in a fountain nearly 850 feet tall, raining down black cinders and molten rock.
According to the Grand Canyon Trust, Sunset Crater erupted for a period lasting several months to a year. Geologists debate the exact date of the eruption but it probably occurred in several stages between 1040 and 1100 AD. The eruption forever changed the landscape, covering vast areas with volcanic ash and cinders. It also changed the lives of the Sinagua people who lived there forcing them to abandon their settlements and move elsewhere. Today we call it Sunset Crater, the youngest volcano on the Colorado Plateau, and its story is as much about survival and resilience as it is about destruction.
When famed Civil War veteran and explorer John Wesley Powell led the U.S. Geological Survey in the 1880s, he traveled through northern Arizona’s San Francisco Volcanic Field. Among the 600 cinder cones and lava domes, one peak stood out. He wrote:
“A portion of the cone is of bright reddish cinders, while the adjacent rocks are of black basalt. The contrast in the colors is so great that on viewing the mountain from a distance the red cinders seem to be on fire.”
Powell dubbed it Sunset Peak, a name later changed to Sunset Crater.
The volcano’s eruption produced two massive lava flows — the Bonito and the Kana-a — and spread black cinders across 810 square miles. The eruption forced the Indigenous Sinagua people to abandon their homes, fields, and villages in the immediate area. But this was not the end of their story. Archaeological evidence shows that the Sinagua adapted, moving to nearby regions where they built new communities, some in the cliff dwellings we can still see today at Walnut Canyon and the pueblos at nearby Wupatki. In time, they learned to farm in the ash-rich soils that held moisture and supported crops like corn, beans, and squash. Out of upheaval came ingenuity and survival.
Nearly lost to Hollywood in 1928, Sunset Crater was saved by public outcry when Paramount Pictures proposed dynamiting its flank for a Zane Grey film. It was saved thanks to the efforts of, Museum of Northern Arizona director, Harold S. Colton and many other concerned citizens. In 1930 President Herbert Hoover declared it a National Monument. Sixty years later, it was renamed Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, protecting more than 3,000 acres.
Today, the monument offers hiking trails through its stark yet beautiful terrain. The Lava Flow Trail winds a mile through cinders and jagged basalt. The Lenox Crater Trail climbs gently for views of the San Francisco Peaks. And the Lava’s Edge Trail traces the rugged boundary of the Bonito Lava Flow. Hiking to the summit itself has been off-limits since 1974, a move that protects the fragile landscape from erosion.
While the red rim and black lava remain harsh and forbidding, life has been slowly returning. Grasses, wildflowers, and pines push through the cinders, while animals reclaim their habitat.
For me, walking these trails is like watching a story of rebirth unfold. Sunset Crater reminds us that even after violent destruction, the earth heals. Nature — and people — find a way forward.
One thousand years ago, Sunset Crater erupted in fury. For the Sinagua, it meant loss and disruption — but also adaptation and resilience. Today the volcano stands quiet, a reminder of both nature’s raw power and the determination of people to survive in its shadow. To stand at the base of its lava fields is to feel history underfoot, glowing not with fire, but with memory.
See more of Jeff’s Sunset Crater pictures at the Sunset Crater Gallery.
Jeff Goulden is a nature, landscape, wildlife photographer and writer based in Flagstaff, Arizona. His work has appeared in Audubon, National Geographic, Nature Conservancy, Wilderness Society and other publications.
See more of Jeff's photography at www.JeffGouldenPhotography.com. Downloads are available at Getty Images. Selected fine art prints and other unique photo products are available at Fine Art America.
Beautiful story well told, Jeff…Love this area. Love that students at NAU especially in the hiking club make a yearly pilgramage to this area..Particularly lovely during these cloudy days..