| World / USA / Arizona / Flagstaff, 22 km from center | Coordinates: 35°21'48"N 111°30'1"W |
8039 ft (2450 m)
"Sunset Crater is in the eastern part of the San Francisco volcanic field. Sunset Crater, one of the youngest scoria cones in the contiguous United States, began erupting between the growing seasons of 1064 and 1065 A.D. Eruptions continued in the area for many decades. The cone was named by John Wesley Powell, first director of the U.S. Geological Survey, for the topmost cap of oxidized, red spatter which makes it appear bathed in the light of the sunset. The red, pink, and yellow colors at the top of the cone are silica, gypsum, and iron oxide that formed from fumaroles."
(volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_sunset.html)
Sunset Crater is Part of the Sunset Crater National Monument.
www.nps.gov/sucr/
Category: park national volcano crater sunset
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