Kachina Peaks Wilderness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox Protected area

Kachina Peaks Wilderness is a Script error: No such module "convert". wilderness area about Script error: No such module "convert". north of Flagstaff within the Coconino National Forest in the U.S. state of Arizona.[1]

The wilderness encompasses most of the upper reaches of the San Francisco Peaks including Humphreys Peak, Arizona's highest point at Script error: No such module "convert".. The area is named for the Hopi spirit beings, or Kachinas, some of whom according to Hopi mythology live here from July to December. In mid-summer kachinas can bring clouds and rain from the top of the peaks to the Hopi mesas during the seasonal monsoons.[2] These peaks are sacred to tribes including the Havasupai, Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni. Several religious shrines have been identified in the wilderness, some of which are still in use.[1]

Geology

Kachina Peaks Wilderness is part of a large composite volcano that last erupted roughly two million years ago. Some of the area's trails lead to the top of the Kachina Peaks: Humphreys Peak, Doyle Peak (11,460 ft), Fremont Peak (11,969 ft), and Agassiz Peak (12,365 ft). These mountains form the rim of the volcano's inner basin, a huge caldera which was formed during its last eruption.[1][2]

Kachina Peaks Wilderness features Arizona's best examples of Ice Age glaciation, found in lateral and medial moraines and abandoned stream beds.[1]

Climate

Snowslide Canyon is a SNOTEL weather station in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness, located within the inner basin of the San Francisco Peaks.[3] Snowslide Canyon has a dry-summer subalpine climate (Köppen Dsc), bordering on a dry-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dsb). Script error: No such module "weather box".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Vegetation

The only Arctic-Alpine vegetation in Arizona is found in a fragile Script error: No such module "convert". zone on the peaks of Kachina Peaks Wilderness. This is the only place where the threatened San Francisco Peaks groundsel (Packera franciscana) is found.[4]

Recreation

Common recreational activities in Kachina Peaks Wilderness include hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and hunting.[4]

File:Forest2.png
Forest path, Kachina Peaks wilderness

See also

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. a b Kachina Peaks Wilderness Template:Webarchive – GORP

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

External links