Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument Camping
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Overview
A brief introduction to Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is a remarkable outdoor laboratory, offering an opportunity to observe, study, and experience the geologic processes that shape natural landscapes. The National Monument, on the Pajarito Plateau in north-central New Mexico, includes a national recreation trail and ranges from 5,570 feet to 6,760 feet above sea level. It is for foot travel only, and contains two segments that provide opportunities for hiking, birdwatching, geologic observation, and plant identification.
The cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash, and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Tremendous explosions from the Jemez volcanic field spewed pyroclasts (rock fragments), while searing hot gases blasted down slopes in an incandescent avalanche called a pyroclastic flow.
Precariously perched on many of the tapering hoodoos are boulder caps that protect the softer pumice and tuff below. Some tents have lost their hard, resistant caprocks, and are disintegrating. While fairly uniform in shape, the tent rock formations vary in height from a few feet up to 90 feet.
Please note that dogs are not allowed in the Monument.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located approximately 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, near Cochiti Pueblo. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Cochiti Pueblo tribe, it was established as a national monument by President Bill Clinton in January 2001. Kasha-Katuwe means "white cliffs" in the Pueblo language Keresan. The monument is a unit of the BLM's National Conservation Lands.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, a popular recreation area between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, was closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and remained closed until November 2024. To prevent crowding the BLM introduced a reservation system, which will allow about 75,000 visitors annually, a reduction from a peak of 130,000.
Read more about Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument at Wikipedia
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Map
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