Friday, November 30, 2007

Vegas Vacation Recap, Part III

The last site we visited on day two was El Morro National Monument. El Morro means “the headland” or “the bluff”. The 250 foot tall massive sandstone bluff was formed largely by ancient sand dunes. The soft sandstone made it easy for travelers to carve pictures, names, dates and messages. Some of the inscriptions date back hundreds and hundreds of years.






On day three we headed to Wupatki and the Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona. Around 1100 a series of eruptions brought the dormant San Francisco Volcanic Field back to life. Even though the field has been dormant for 800 years a working seismograph at the Sunset Crate Volcano visitor center is continually monitoring the area.


Sunset Crater Volcano



The Lava flow



More lava flow



even more lava flow



In addition to the volcano we saw pueblo ruins. The people who built Wupatki and other pueblos here were ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni and other puebloan peoples of today. Wupatki is the largest pueblo in the park. It was build around 1100.









Next update - The Grand Canyon and The Hover Dam

No comments: