Kachina Peaks Wilderness is a

wilderness area 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 ...

about north of Flagstaff within the

Coconino National Forest The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre (751,000 ha) United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff. Originally established in 1898 as the "San Francisco Mountains National Forest Reserve", th ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of

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 ...

.Kachina Peaks Wilderness
– Wilderness.net The wilderness encompasses most of the upper reaches of the San Francisco Peaks including

Humphreys Peak Humphreys Peak ( hop, Aaloosaktukwi, nv, Dookʼoʼoosłííd) is the highest natural point and the second most prominent peak after Mount Graham in the U.S. state of Arizona, with an elevation of and is located within the Kachina Peaks Wildern ...

, Arizona's highest point at . The area is named for the Hopi gods, or

Kachinas A kachina (; also katchina, katcina, or katsina; Hopi: ''katsina'' , plural ''katsinim'' ) is a spirit being in the religious beliefs of the Pueblo peoples, Native American cultures located in the south-western part of the United States. In t ...

, who 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.Kachina Peaks Wilderness
– Coconino National Forest These peaks are sacred to tribes including the

Havasupai The Havasupai people (Havasupai: ''Havsuw' Baaja'') are an American Indian tribe who have lived in the Grand Canyon for at least the past 800 years. ''Havasu'' means "blue-green water" and ''pai'' "people". Located primarily in an area know ...

, Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni. Several religious shrines have been identified in the wilderness, some of which are still in use.

Geology

Kachina Peaks Wilderness is part of a large

composite volcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and peri ...

that last erupted roughly two million years ago. Some of the area's trails lead to the top of the Kachina Peaks: Humphreys Peak,

Doyle Peak Doyle Peak is a peak in the Coconino National Forest, and the fourth-highest peak in the San Francisco Peaks of northern Arizona. It is the sixth-highest named point in the state of Arizona, with an elevation of . History of the Doyle Peak a ...

(11,460 ft),

Fremont Peak Fremont Peak can refer to one of several peaks. In the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in Nor ...

(11,969 ft), and

Agassiz Peak Agassiz Peak is the second-highest mountain in the U.S. state of Arizona at . It is located north of Flagstaff, Arizona in the San Francisco Peaks. It is in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness on the Coconino National Forest. The peak was named in hon ...

(12,365 ft). These mountains form the rim of the volcano's inner basin, a huge

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

which was formed during its last eruption. Kachina Peaks Wilderness features Arizona's best examples of

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

, found in lateral and medial

moraines A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

and abandoned stream beds.

Vegetation

The only Arctic-Alpine vegetation in Arizona is found in a fragile zone on the peaks of Kachina Peaks Wilderness. This is the only place where the

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

San Francisco Peaks groundsel ''(Packera franciscana)'' is found.Kachina Peaks Wilderness
– GORP

Recreation

Common recreational activities in Kachina Peaks Wilderness include hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and hunting.

References

{{reflist

External links

Kachina Peaks Wilderness
– Coconino National Forest
Kachina Peaks Wilderness
– Wilderness.net

– GORP Protected areas of Coconino County, Arizona Religious places of the indigenous peoples of North America Wilderness areas of Arizona Coconino National Forest

Geology

Vegetation

Recreation

See also

References

External links