San Francisco Mountain
by Kathleen Scanlan
Title
San Francisco Mountain
Artist
Kathleen Scanlan
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Just take the high road. Jump in your car, pack a lunch, and just drive. That is my dream. No plans, no real destination. Simply find a highway and seek out the beauty of nature. This gorgeous mountain range is the San Francisco Mountain. The flat highway aims right at them and appears to simply just end there.
It is located in northern Arizona near Flagstaff and the highest summit (Humphrey's Peak) reaches a staggering 12,633 feet in elevation. The range is what remains of an eroded stratovolcano. A stratovolcano is one that continuously erupts over time, layering lava and ash to form what is left of the mountain. Compression of the material brought the original height of the volcano of over 16,000 feet down to what it is today.
In 1629, Francisco Friars doing missionary work in the mountains, along with the native indians, named the range after St. Francis of Assisi. Today, it is called San Francisco Peaks, San Francisco Mountain, or The Peaks. Most maps use the San Francisco Mountain to identify the range.
The Navajo Indians named the peaks "Shining on Top" and consider the range a Sacred Mountain of the West. It marks the southwestern boundary of Dineta, their ancestral homeland.
These mountain peaks (six in total) are filled with history. Indians believed their Gods resided there and missionaries sought out the indians to convert them. When the railroad came through, so did the explorers and settlers. The finding of gold in California brought many a prospector through this region, leaving behind those who would decide not to go any further. Even with the influx of people to the region, the area still remains as it has for ages. Big, beautiful skies, snow-capped mountain tops jutting up into the heavens, and tall, green trees still cover the bottom and lower sides of these majestic peaks. Come on, take a ride...you know you want to!
Uploaded
March 22nd, 2015
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