San Francisco Peak is
the highest of these volcanic mountains, and about it are grouped in an
irregular way many volcanic cones, one of which presents some remarkable
characteristics. A portion of the cone is of bright reddish cinders,
while the adjacent rocks are of black basalt. The contrast in the
colors is so great that on viewing the mountain from a distance the red
cinders seem to be on fire. From this circumstance the cone has been
named Sunset Peak. When distant from it ten or twenty miles it is hard
to believe that the effect is produced by contrasting colors, for the
peak seems to glow with a light of its own.
In centuries past the San Francisco Plateau was the home of
pueblo-building tribes, and the ruins of their habitations are widely
scattered over this elevated region. Thousands of little dwellings are
found, usually built of blocks of basalt. In some cases they were
clustered in little towns, and three of these deserve further mention.
A few miles south of San Francisco Peak there is an intermittent stream
known as Walnut Creek. This stream runs in a deep gorge 600 to 800 feet
below the general surface. The stream has cut its way through the
limestone and through series of sandstones, and bold walls of rock are
presented on either side. In some places the softer sandstones lying
between the harder limestones and sandstones have yielded to weathering
agencies, so that there are caves running along the face of the wall,
sometimes for hundreds or thousands of feet, but not very deep.
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