The San Francisco Volcanic
Field of Northern Arizona
Including SP Crater, Colton Crater, Merriam Crater,
Red Mountain, the Cinder Hills and Cinder Basin
The San Francisco Volcanic Field of northern Arizona includes around
600 dormant or extinct volcanos. In the greater Flagstaff region, ancient volcanic
activity produced such large, well-known mountains as the San Francisco Peaks,
Kendrick Mountain and Sunset Crater. However, many lesser-known volcanos, or
cinder cones as they're often called, are also worth seeing including SP Crater,
Colton Crater, Merriam Crater and Red Mt. The dark, partially forested Cinder
Hills on the "back side" of Sunset Crater are also uniquely beautiful. Just
beyond the Cinder Hills lies the lower, flatter Cinder Basin, which
errupts with colorful wildflowers in the summer.

Drone Photos
I have climbed to the rims of both SP and Colton Craters
with a regular camera. However, to fully appreciate these cinder
cones and get a true sense that they are in fact ancient volcanos
you must get an aerial perspective. Fortunately, a friend
lent me a very nice drone so I was able to do just that.





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