March 2008
Welcome to New Mexico
Kasha-Katuwe
Tent Rocks National Monument
The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is a remarkable outdoor
laboratory, offering an opportunity to observe, study, and experience
the geologic processes that shape natural landscapes. The national
monument, on the Pajarito Plateau in north-central New Mexico, includes
a national recreation trail and ranges from 5,570 feet to 6,760 feet
above sea level.
The cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic
eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash
and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Tremendous explosions from the
Jemez volcanic field spewed pyroclasts (rock fragments), while searing
hot gases blasted down slopes in an incandescent avalanche called a
“pyroclastic flow.” In close inspections of the arroyos, visitors will
discover small, rounded, translucent obsidian (volcanic glass)
fragments created by rapid cooling.
The
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
in Santa Fe, New Mexico, tells the stories of the Native American
people of the Southwest from pre-historic through contemporary times.
Its changing exhibitions draw from an unparalleled collection of Native
American art and material culture representing the Pueblo, Navajo,
Apache, and other indigenous cultures of the Southwest.