The Land of the Standing-Up Rocks

A national monument since the 1920s, Chiricahua is America's newest national park.
Some 27 million years ago, a volcano in what's now southeastern Arizona unleashed a spectacular series of eruptions, strewing more than 1,000 times as much volcanic material across the landscape as Mount St. Helens did in 1980.
An array of geologic processes, including erosion and weathering , gradually sculpted the welded layer of tuff into the collection of dramatic spires, hoodoos , and canyons that visitors to the caldera area encounter today.
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