Rising on the horizon lies the heart of the Chiricahua Mountains, Remnants of the Turkey Creek Volcano.
Nearly 27 million years ago the earth shook as huge clouds of ash, gas, and pumice began erupting into the atmosphere. Billowing down the slopes, these fiery ash clouds, or nuee ardente, flowed at speeds of 100 miles/160 kilometers per hour. When the eruptions stopped, more than 1,200 square miles/3,100 square kilometers of the surrounding area were covered with layers of volcanic ash.
So much material was blown out of the volcano, it collapsed forming a caldera, a huge crater-like depression, 12 miles/19 kilometers across and 5,000 feet/1,524 meters deep. Today, it is difficult to see signs of the volcano. Travel south from the park 12 miles/19.2 kilometers to Turkey Creek and you will be inside the dormant volcano.
Caption for the photo at left: The dashed line of the photo marks the rim of the Turkey Creek caldera as you view it from the window. The large patches of snow cover areas burned in the Rattlesnake fire of 1994.
Caption for image at bottom right: Geologists estimate that the Turkey Creek eruption was 1,000 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington. The Turkey Creek Volcano blew out 100 cubic miles of material while Mount Saint Helens produced one tenth of a cubic mile.