Tent Rocks is located just west of Santa Fe, NM. Getting there was easy, but we failed to look at the price of entry before we arrived. We had no cash on hand, nor had we printed out our Every Kid in a Park pass (which grants free national park entry to every fourth grader and their family... Thanks, Sam!), so we had to take a little detour to find a gas station with an ATM.
Our original intent was to do some hiking so that we could get a close look at the rock formations. Hiking trails at Tent Rocks are somewhat limited in extent: as you can see on the official map, the primary options are the Cave Loop Trail and the Slot Canyon Trail. By the time we arrived, the trailhead parking lot was crowded, the sun was blazing in a clear blue sky, only one of us had thought to bring a hat (no, we're not disorganized at all!), and... we decided we weren't up for a walk. I know. We're weenies. But it just wasn't happening that day.
Instead, we drove past the trailhead onto a winding gravel road and followed it for 3.5 miles uphill before arriving at the Veteran's Memorial Scenic Overlook, which is where we spent most of our time.
The parking area is surrounded by well-appointed covered picnic tables. We staked one out, had a snack, and admired the view.
Then we headed for the overlook, where we took about 100 pictures and learned more about the rock formations.
Don't be fooled by the unassuming nature of these flat-lying white, brown, and tan layers: they're actually the deposits of massive volcanic eruptions that occurred only a few million years ago. Some of the layers are made of ash that rained down like rocky snow during and after the eruptions, whereas others are the products of hot, treacherous pyroclastic flows that obliterated everything in their paths.
The brownish-orange top layer in the photo above is the Bandelier Tuff. The Bandelier Tuff is a pyroclastic flow deposit that formed when the nearby Valles Caldera erupted about 1.1 million years ago.
As for the tent structures (you can find a better picture here), they form when boulder-sized blocks protect the underlying volcanic layers from getting eroded. In other words, the material beneath the boulders is shielded from the erosive power of water. When the boulders fall off or disintegrate, the underlying volcanic deposits are exposed and eventually wear down.
Sam was interested in the plant life at the monument. A quick walk near the scenic overlook revealed all sorts of colorful, spiky flora:
Here he's saying, "What's this plant, mom?" and I'm like, "Ummmm... Oh hey! Did you see those rocks over there?"
We highly recommend a visit to this national monument if you're in the area. It's inexpensive, it's accessible, and it offers some great learning opportunities. If you can't manage an in-person visit, check out some of the resources below.
Related resources:
- Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument website
- Interactive map of Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument (may take time to load)
- Every Kid in a Park program
- Information about the Valles Caldera
- Caldera formation animation
- Example of a pyroclastic flow (Unzen volcano, Japan)
- Common desert plants
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