Tucked into Cochise County in eastern Arizona, Chiricahua National Monument is a land of hills and valleys filled with beautiful and grotesque rock formations, the result of ancient lava flows and the forces of erosion over the centuries. When hiking over the extensive system of trails you will experience claustrophobic moments under huge boulders poised as if to fall on you at any second. And then you will emerge onto a plateau and look out at a vast panorama of scenic ridges and distant forests.
The Chiricahua (pronounced cheer-i-COW-ah) Mountains form one of the “sky islands” in the region, so called because they rise up from the desert floor much as islands rise up out of the ocean. Four environments come together and merge into each other at this location – the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Madre, Chihuahua Desert and Sonora Desert – bringing into the area a rich diversity of plant, bird and animal life including many Mexican species. It is visited and studied by botanists, zoologists and, of course, geologists.
The area is an attraction principally because of its fanciful and dramatic rocks. Many are formed .into pinnacles and spires similar to those found in Bryce Canyon National Park, but many are left in ungainly poses that leave us wondering why they don’t just fall down! A huge boulder may be just barely balanced on a tiny little spire, and may have been in that position for centuries. Of course, over the years these rock sculptures have been named by explorers and visitors and the names have stuck down to this day. In a section of the park named Heart of Rocks, we can easily identify Punch and Judy, Duck on a Rock, and many others.
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Specializing in Boise Idaho real estate, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Star, Kuna, Middleton, Caldwell, and Ada County. Michelle Newell helping to find and buy the home of ...
