Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
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| Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument | |
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| IUCN Category III (Natural Monument) | |
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| Location | Sandoval County, New Mexico, USA |
| Nearest city | Santa Fe, NM |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 4,148 acres (16.78 km²) |
| Established | January 17, 2001 |
| Governing body | U.S. Bureau of Land Management |
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, located 40 miles southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico (near Cochiti), is a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed site that was established as a U.S. National Monument by President Bill Clinton in January 2001 shortly before leaving office.
The area owes its remarkable geology to layers of volcanic rock and ash deposited by a volcanic explosion. Over time, weathering and erosion of these layers has created canyons and tent rocks. The tent rocks themselves are cones of soft pumice and tuff beneath harder caprocks.
The monument is open for day use only and may be closed by order of the Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Governor. A 1.2 mile (1.9 km) recreation trail leads up through a slot canyon to a lookout point where the tent rocks may be viewed from above. A 1.3 mile (2 km) loop trail leads past their base. The park is located between 5700 and 6400 feet (1737-1951 m) above sea level.
The Monument is unit of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System.
[edit] Gallery
 Tent Rocks near Monument Entrance |
 Tent Rocks viewed from Lookout Point |
 Slot canyon on trail |
 Tent Rocks with scale comparison |
[edit] External links
