Thursday, April 1, 2010

Arizona's highest mountain -- Humphreys Peak


At 12,637 feet above sea level, Humphreys Peak is the highest mountain in Arizona. It also the highest of a group of peaks the form the edge of a huge volcanic caldera known as the San Francisco Peaks. To quote Wikipedia,
Humphreys Peak was named in about 1870 for General Andrew A. Humphreys, a U.S. Army officer who was a Union general during the American Civil War, and who later became Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. However, a General Land Office map from 1903 showed the name San Francisco Peak applied to this feature (apparently borrowed from San Francisco Mountain on which the peak stands). Thus the United States Board on Geographic Names approved the variant name in 1911. In 1933, the application of the names was rectified.
The picture above was taken southwest of the peak, looking towards the northeast. From the south or southeast, Humphreys Peak is hidden by the other peaks surrounding the caldera. "A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption such as the ones at Yellowstone National Park in the US and Glen Coe in Scotland. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters. The word comes from Spanish caldera, and this from Latin CALDARIA, meaning "cooking pot". In some texts the English term cauldron is also used. Calderas are formed out of stratovolcanoes." Wikipedia. The Kachina Wilderness is the caldera, a huge bowl shaped cavity. Again from Wikipedia,

Kachina Peaks Wilderness is a 18,616-acre (75 km2) wilderness area located approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Flagstaff within the Coconino National Forest in the U.S. state of Arizona. The Wilderness encompasses most of the upper reaches of the San Francisco Peaks including Humphreys Peak, Arizona's highest point at 12,643 feet (3,854 m). The area is named for the Hopi gods, or Kachinas, whom according to Hopi mythology live here for part of every year. In mid-summer these Gods fly from the top of the peaks to the Hopi mesas as clouds bringing the rains of the seasonal monsoons. These peaks are sacred to tribes including the Havasupai, Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni. Several religious shrines have been identified in the Wilderness, some of which are still in use.


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