Red Mountain
exposed An unusual view of a cinder cone LARRY HENDRICKS
‌Thick-trunked junipers and stunted pinyon pines bathe in sunlight as the sky builds with fattening monsoon clouds. A stiff breeze dries the sweat on the back of the neck, keeps the body cool and aggressive flies at bay. Reddish dirt coats the shoes, and the thick fragrance of mountain flowers tickle the nose. A rusted iron cut, as if a giant used a cleaver on the landscape, bisects the mountain and reveals the fascinating geologic beauty that typifies this part of northern Arizona. My work colleague and friend Evan Burris and I are on the trail at Red Mountain. It is an easy outing west of Flagstaff that few people make, opting instead to stay in the car and head for the Grand Canyon. They are missing out. According to information from the U.S. Geological Survey, Red Mountain is a 740,000-year-old cinder cone volcano situated among hundreds of other cinder cones in the San Francisco Volcanic Field.
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