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Kasha Katuwe
Kasha Katuwe Rock is a national monument and a unique group of rock formations, located in the foothills of the Jemez Mountains, north-central New Mexico. Tent Rocks is a land of spectacular and bizarre rock shapes. It covers 16.6 square km of area and a range of elevations between 1,700 to 2,060 meters.
The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument offers an opportunity to observe, study, and experience the geologic processes that shape natural landscapes. It is for foot travel only and contains two segments that provide opportunities for hiking, bird watching, and geologic observation.
Geology
The tent rock trail is about 40 Km. southwest of Santa Fe, USA. This area has a visually stunning piece of Geographical landscape. The Kasha Katuwe rock formation is located in the Pajarito Plateau. This Plateau is formed by Volcanic Activity in the region. Research says that the Jemez Volcanic Mountain or the Pajarito Plateau has been active for the past 15 million years.
The Kasha Katuwe tent rock is southeast of the Valles Caldera. The massive pyroclastic eruption from the Valles caldera buried the surrounding landscape in debris. The Soft, spongy Rock is found in the region known as pumice and small rock fragments called Tuff. This Tuff settled across the landscape for miles beyond the caldera. Over a million Time period, weathering and erosion carved a slot in Canton and Tent Rock.
The cone-shaped tent rock formations vary in height from a few meters to 30 meters. The uniform layering of volcanic material shows bands of grey color interspersed with red and pink-colored rock along the cliff. Over the years, wind and water cut into these deposits, creating distinctive pointy hoodoos as well as the sinuous slot canyon. Finally, it was contouring inward ravines into smooth semicircles.
Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, situated on the Pajarito Plateau in north-central New Mexico (ranging from 5,570 to 6,760 feet above sea level), serves as a remarkable outdoor laboratory for observing and experiencing geologic processes; this foot-travel-only National Monument features a recreation trail with two segments offering excellent opportunities for hiking, birdwatching, geologic observation, and plant identification.
Many tapering hoodoos are precariously capped by boulders that shield the softer pumice and tuff underneath; while uniform in shape, these tent rock formations vary significantly in height, ranging from just a few feet up to 90 feet, though some are actively disintegrating after losing their hard, resistant caprocks.
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Apache Tears
Apache tears are small, rounded pieces of obsidian. They are very common at Tent Rocks. They are actually eroded out of the gravels in the Tuff. When groundwater moves through the sediment hydrates the glass composites, converting the black obsidian to gray Perlite. However, when the Perlite forms around a composite that wasn’t saturated with water. It creates a Shell with a Core of Obsidian. After that, a Teardrop-shaped Obsidian piece is exposed in the Drainage.
Hiking
Rocks Hike is a fantastic adventure; it gives a spectacular view to see the unique geologic formation known as Tent Rocks. It is one of the best hikes in New Mexico. It’s only about a 3-mile one-way moderate loop trail through a slot canyon with hoodoos, and striated rock formations that seem to be cones or teepees. Kasha-Katuwe means “white cliffs.” The monument includes a National Recreational Trail for hiking only. The Trail contains two segments that provide opportunities for hiking, bird watching, geologic observation, and plant identification. Both segments of the trail begin at the designated Monument area.
The first Trail is Cave Loop Trail winds across an open area at the foot of the cliffs, giving close-up views of cones, hoodoos, and gullies. The more strenuous and more varied Slot Canyon Trail forks off near the far side of the loop, following an initially very narrow ravine, then climbing more steeply to a viewpoint above the formations.
Read- Geotourism And Modern Geotechniques
How to reach the Kasha Katuwe
To get to the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, drive north on I-25 from Albuquerque to Exit 259, or southwest from Santa Fe to Exit 264, then follow signs for NM 16 or NM 22 to reach the monument entrance. It is essential to make an online reservation in advance, and visitors must stop at the visitor center to get a special vehicle pass and follow a pilot car to the parking area.
