0211-14, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Park #4

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 (see “Activities” below) 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. Please leave these fragments for others to enjoy.

Precariously perched on many of the tapering hoodoos are boulder caps that protect the softer pumice and tuff below. Some tents have lost their hard, resistant caprocks and are disintegrating. While fairly uniform in shape, the tent rock formations vary in height from a few feet to 90 feet.

As the result of uniform layering of volcanic material, bands of gray are interspersed with beige and pink-colored rock along the cliff face. Over time, wind and water cut into these deposits, creating canyons and arroyos, scooping holes in the rock, and contouring the ends of small, inward ravines into smooth semi-circles.

Historical & Cultural Perspective
The complex landscape and spectacular geologic scenery of the national monument has been a focal point for visitors for centuries. 

Before nearby Cochiti Reservoir was built, surveys recorded numerous archaeological sites reflecting human occupations spanning 4,000 years. 

During the 14th and 15th centuries, several large ancestral pueblos were established and their descendants, the Pueblo de Cochiti, still inhabit the surrounding area. 

Kasha-Katuwe means “white cliffs” in the traditional Keresan language of the Pueblo.

In 1540, the Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado encountered the Pueblo de Cochiti. Throughout the 17th century, settlers would follow Juan de Oñate’s route along the Rio Grande Valley, bringing trade, farming and domestic animals, and claiming land grants from the Spanish Crown. 

In 1680, the Cochiti people joined other pueblos in a rebellion that drove the Spaniards south to 

El Paso, Texas, but the Spanish returned permanently in 1692. 

By 1870, iron rails stretched into the territory of New Mexico bringing loggers, 

miners and others to enjoy its rich natural resources.