Chiricahua National Monument is a unit of the

National Park System The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properties ...

located in the

Chiricahua Mountains The Chiricahua Mountains massif is a large mountain range in southeastern Arizona which is part of the Basin and Range province of the west and southwestern United States and northwest Mexico; the range is part of the Coronado National Forest. T ...

of southeastern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The monument was established on April 18, 1924, to protect its extensive hoodoos and

balancing rock A balancing rock, also called a balanced rock or precarious boulder, is a naturally occurring geological formation featuring a large rock or boulder, sometimes of substantial size, resting on other rocks, bedrock, or on glacial till. Some formati ...

s. The Faraway Ranch, which was owned at one time by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson, is also preserved within the monument. Just over 85% of the monument is protected as the Chiricahua National Monument

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

Visitor center

visitor center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

is located two miles from the entrance to Chiricahua National Monument. The visitor center has exhibits relating to the geology, natural history, and cultural history of the area. A park ranger is available to provide visitors with trail guides and information. The main road, Bonita Canyon Drive, ventures east through the park, ending at Massai Point. Approximately of trails lead hikers through various ecosystems of meadows, forests, and rock formations. The visitor center has a free shuttle that leaves each morning at 9:00am. The shuttle takes hikers to the Echo Canyon or Massai Point trailheads. Hikers return to the visitor center by following the designated trails.

Geology

Located approximately southeast of

Willcox, Arizona Willcox is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. The city is located in the Sulphur Springs Valley, a flat and sparsely populated drainage basin dotted with seasonal lakes. The city is surrounded by Arizona's most prominent mountain ...

, the monument preserves the remains of an immense

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

eruption that shook the region about 27 million years ago. The thick, white-hot ash spewed forth from the nearby Turkey Creek Caldera, cooled and hardened into rhyolitic tuff, laying down almost of highly

siliceous Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

, dark volcanic ash and pumice. The volcanic material eventually eroded into the natural rock formations of the present monument.

Historic Designed Landscape

Chiricahua National Monument Historic Designed Landscape is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

that covers roughly 80% of the national monument. The district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on October 31, 2008. (268 pages including 17 maps and 199 photos, exterior and interior) It was the 18th property listed as a featured property of the week in a program of the National Park Service that began in July, 2008.

Redesignation as National Park

In 2022 the

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

passed S. 1320 to redesignate the monument as a National Park. A bill has been introduced in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, but no vote has been taken.

Missing naturalist

On January 13, 1980, Paul Fugate, a National Park Service naturalist and law enforcement ranger, disappeared after leaving the monument headquarters while in uniform, to check trails leading to the recently acquired Faraway Ranch. An acquaintance claimed to have seen him later that afternoon, slumped between two men in a pickup truck. Despite an extensive search of the rugged monument area by authorities and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

teams, no trace of him has been found.

Gallery

Chiricahua park99.jpg, Park map Chiricahua stone columns.jpg, Stone columns, called hoodoos, are the most common formation in the monument Chiricahua nima6.JPG, Hoodoos in ''Totem Canyon''

Climate

References

External links

*
Chiricahua National Monument
–

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

The Search for a Ranger Who Was Lost and Never Found April 1, 2021
{{authority control 1924 establishments in Arizona Chiricahua Mountains Landforms of Cochise County, Arizona National Park Service National Monuments in Arizona Protected areas established in 1924 Protected areas of Cochise County, Arizona Rock formations of Arizona Douglas, Arizona Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Geography of Cochise County, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Cochise County, Arizona National Park Service rustic in Arizona