Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

I first visited the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks near Cochiti Pueblo in northern New Mexico about 7 years ago when my parents were visiting. I'm so glad that I was able to go back for a visit and to take a trail that we didn't go on before, this time taking an old college friend with us.

Seven years ago we all went on the Cave Loop Trail, which is about a mile long and led you next to a cave used by Native Americans 4,000 years ago. The cave was up off of the ground, which was advantageous to the natives so that they could have a great view of the valley and remain safe from wild animals wandering in. This visit we took the extension named the Slot Canyon Trail that wound through a narrow canyon and up to an overlook (2 miles there and back). There was still a little bit of snow on the ground where the trail started a steep ascent which made some difficult scrambling up the trail. It was a beautiful winter day, about 45°, with clear skies. At the overlook we were able to see Sandia Peak in Albuquerque, Santa Fe Baldy in Santa Fe, and more of the Jemez Mountains above the Pajarito Plateau that we were standing on.

Here's a little bit of geology for you: The landscape first began as layers of ash, pumice, and tuff that settled out from the debris launched from a volcanic explosion and the pyroclastic flows outward from it about 6 million years ago. Over time wind and water carved out the shapes to form the unique tent rock landscape that is not found in very many places on earth besides the Pajarito Plateau. The area is known for its tent rocks and hoodoos as well as the beautiful layers of the rock. Canyons and arroyos have been carved out of the rock as well.

Hoodoos are tent rocks with a cap on the top of them that formed when weathering around large boulders caused the softer rock below to wear away, creating the tent shape and leaving the boulders on top of them.

If you are ever in the area, I'd love to take you there! It is fascinating and beautiful. And if you aren't a geologist, there is a lot of biology and history in the area as well. The area is famous for its archaeology, bird watching, and plant identification.

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Neat

"Let all that you do be done in love"
1 Cor 16:14

Pueblo Canyon Tent Rocks

Today I went for a run with some friends down Pueblo Canyon here in Los Alamos. We started at the Aquatic Center at about 7200 feet and descended along the Ranch School trail until we reached the bottom of the canyon at about 6600 feet where the Pueblo Canyon trail began. The trail was lush with ponderosa pines, oaks, and wildflowers as well as that sage-like bush that grows everywhere here and that left yellow pollen stains on my socks.

This was my first time down the trail but friends had told me that there were some great rock formations that I just had to see. Of course I had to go along. As you might know, I live in an area that is covered in volcanic rocks that were laid down after the Valles Caldera volcano behind our town exploded about 1.2 million years ago. Alternating layers of pumice, tuff, and welded tuff were layered over the basalt from the Rio Grande Rift spreading center. After the layering, rainstorms carried huge chunks of lava over the surface that just sat there. Over time, water from the mountains carved out the canyons around the Pajarito Plateau. One of the really cool geologic features in the Pueblo Canyon are the tent rocks (see photo, below).

Tent rocks are formed due to the water erosion washing away the softer tuff over time. They are shaped like cones or teepees, hence the name "tent." I've heard that tent rocks are very rare and are only found in certain areas of the world such as the southwestern US and people come from all over to see ours.

Now, if there was a big chunk of that lava sitting on top of the softer tuff, it acted as a protector to the rock below it. The water washing away the sediment went around the rock and over time, a feature called a hoodoo was formed. The caprocks of lava were left balanced on the columns of tuff. Hoodoos are really neat geologic formations that always deserve a chuckle, not only for their name, but also for their various shapes. Here are a few in the canyon. Enjoy!

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Neat