Slot Canyon Albuquerque
- Slot Canyon Albuquerque Nm
- Slot Canyon Albuquerque New Mexico
- Albuquerque Slot Canyon
- Slot Canyon Albuquerque Casino
| Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument | |
|---|---|
| Location | Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States |
| Nearest city | Cochiti Pueblo, NM |
| Coordinates | 35°39′37″N106°24′30″W / 35.66028°N 106.40833°WCoordinates: 35°39′37″N106°24′30″W / 35.66028°N 106.40833°W |
| Area | 5,402 acres (21.86 km2)[1] |
| Established | January 17, 2001 |
| Governing body | U.S. Bureau of Land Management |
| Website | Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument |
Slot Canyons and Cliff Dwellings: Stunning Sights in New Mexico Destination & Tourism Jim Byers June 28, 2018 Hiking Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is a fantastic way to enjoy New Mexico. The slot canyon is the longer trail of the two and leads you through the canyon (as the tent rocks rise up alongside you) and up to the lookout point allowing you to view the tent rocks from above. This trail is 1.2 miles to the top. The canyon is situated within the 50,300 acre Chama River Canyon Wilderness, providing solitude and an easy off-trail canyoneering experience in the Santa Fe National Forest. The highlight of the canyon is two slot sections carved into the multi-hued sandstone. Slot Canyon Trail, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. Walk among rock hoodoos that look like tipi tents! Amid the unusual rock formations, you’ll likely imagine yourself in another world. The Slot Canyon Trail is a 3-mile/4.8-kilometer roundtrip hike into a narrow canyon shaped by geologic processes seldom seen on this lovely planet.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located approximately 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, near Cochiti Pueblo. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), it was established as a U.S. National Monument by President Bill Clinton in January 2001. Kasha-Katuwe means 'white cliffs' in the Pueblo language Keresan.[2] The monument is a unit of the BLM's National Conservation Lands.
Geology[edit]
Kasha-Katuwe is located on the Pajarito Plateau between 5700 and 6400 feet (1737–1951 m) above sea level. The area owes its remarkable geology to layers of volcanic rock and ash deposited by pyroclastic flow from eruptions within the volcanic field of the Jemez Mountains that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago. These rock layers are assigned to the Peralta Tuff. Many of the layers are light in color, which is the origin of the monument's Keresan name. Over time, weathering and erosion of these layers has created slot canyons and tent rocks. The tent rocks are composed of soft pumice and tuff. Most of the tent rocks have a distinctly conical shape and some retain their caprocks of harder stone. The tent rocks vary in height from a few feet to 90 feet (27 m).[2]
Recreational activities[edit]
The BLM maintains hiking trails as well as parking and restrooms at the site. The Slot Canyon trail is a one-way trail covering 1.5 miles (2.4 km) through a slot canyon and up a climb of 630 feet (190 m) to a lookout point where the tent rocks may be viewed from above. The Cave Loop trail is approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) and leads past the base of the cliffs, near some of the tent rocks and a small cavate similar to those found at the nearby Bandelier National Monument. The Veterans' Memorial Scenic Overlook, dedicated in 2004, includes a 1 mile (1.6 km) loop trail and views of Peralta Canyon and the Jemez Mountains. The overlook is located at the end of a gravel road approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of the tent rocks and may not be accessible depending on road and weather conditions.
The monument is open for day use only and may be closed by order of the Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Governor. Considerations for hiking include the possibility of flash flooding in the slot canyons and the high altitude of the monument. The monument is closed to dogs.[2]
In popular culture[edit]
The science fiction television series Earth 2 filmed scenes at the monument.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'National Monument detail table as of April 2012'(PDF). Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
- ^ abc'Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument'. Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. |
I’m hiking through the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, less than an hour from Santa Fe. I’m in the 62nd year on this glorious planet of ours and this is somehow my first hike in a slot canyon.
Slot Canyon Albuquerque Nm
Above me are swooping, surging, curving walls that bend and bulge in wild patterns of pale sand and dusty orange. There’s a tiny sliver of robin’s-egg-blue sky slipping through an overhead crack in the canyon walls.
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I step through a narrow gap in the rock and stroll into a wider opening with sweet-smelling evergreens and tiny plants clinging to life in the harsh desert climate. Suddenly a small monarch butterfly slides past my ear. I look up as it dances on the wind and spot a pair of hawks riding invisible thermals high overhead.
I stop and take stock of my surroundings for a minute. I listen to the quiet tune the wind is playing as it slices through the pale canyon walls and jot down some thoughts on my notepad.
Glorious.
You start off a visit to Kasha-Katuwe with a relatively easy hike up a path that follows a slight incline past desert shrubs and cactus. After just a few minutes you’re at the edge of the slot canyon, which practically calls your name and sends an official, embossed invitation, so strong is the lure to explore once you reach the opening.
You’ll pass gorgeous canyon walls and peer up at large “tent rocks” that look like the ones you see in photos of Cappadocia, Turkey. To me, some of them look like the chimney vents in the buildings designed by artist Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona.
Most of the path is reasonably wide but on a couple of occasions you have to step in a ribbon that’s perhaps a few inches wide and have only a little bit of elbow room. It’s no trouble for me, but a Chicago Bears’ defensive lineman might find it a tight fit here and there.
After maybe a half hour you have to scramble up a bit of a slope and then some steps in the rock face someone has kindly created. They say there’s a magical view from a lookout high on the bluffs, but I wasn’t wearing the proper shoes and couldn’t make the last five or ten minutes of the hike. Still, I was inordinately happy sitting in the warm April sun. checking out the canyon walls and tent rocks that have been bleached by endless eons of merciless sun and unceasing winds.
Slot Canyon Albuquerque New Mexico
If you go, I strongly suggest bringing LOTS of water (especially if it’s warm), sunscreen, layers of clothing and a walking stick. Also, don’t be a goof like me and show up in sandals. Even the sturdy ones I had were no match for the scrabbly, loose rock on the hills at the end of the hike. Bring good, unworn hiking shoes if you plan to take this hike. And you should.
The Puye Cliff Dwellings are another wonderful spot near Santa Fe. I grabbed a tour with a local native American woman who explained the history of the area and talked about the lifestyle of the inhabitants.
Puye, she explains, means “where the rabbits gather” in her native tongue. The area used to be covered with jackrabbits and cottontails. It’s also close to a good stream, which is an important reason that natives settled in the region.
It’s believed that folks began living here around 900 AD. Most inhabitants left around 1500 or 1600 due to drought, and probably the presence of the Spanish.
We learn that there are 19 native nations within the state of New Mexico, including hers. Her people speak a language called Tewa and live in what is called the Santa Clara Pueblo.
We examine the ruins of clifftop dwellings and also clamber into a hollowed-out chamber below the surface, where folks could stay warm in winter and cool in summer and where male elders would gather to discuss important issues.
Our guide shows us broken pieces of pottery that litter the clifftop.
“When my people left here they broke the potter into shards to return the clay to mother earth. My mother does the same thing when a piece of pottery she’s making doesn’t come out right. Then she uses the pieces in her next pots to continue the cycle.”
Albuquerque Slot Canyon
If you clamber down some stairs carved into the rock you can find the cliff dwellings, small rooms carved out of the living rock. I spot telltale signs of smoke and fire on the walls and admire the views of distant mountains and rolling plains and try to imagine what life was like here 500 years ago.
I climb back in my car for the drive back to Albuquerque, stopping often to admire towering formations of stone and exposed slashes of bright orange rock. I can feel the history all around me; the sun and the wind and the pockmarked, ageless stone.
This is a place I won’t soon forget.
IF YOU GO
Slot Canyon Albuquerque Casino
Albuquerque is about an hour’s drive from Kasha-Katuwe and roughly 90 minutes from Puye Cliffs. The Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown is a great spot near shops, restaurants and movie theaters, with a super-friendly staff and a great top-floor lounge. A little closer to both Kasha-Katuwe and Puye Cliffs is the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North, a large hotel with a beautiful atrium lobby and modern rooms with all the amenities you need.