City Of The Rocks

I made this photo because it makes me think of Stonehenge but in fact it is at The City Of The Rocks in New Mexico.

The rolling, grassy plains of southwest New Mexico are not an obvious place to find unusual, eroded rock formations but in one shallow valley near Deming, well south of Silver City but still in sight of the rugged Gila Mountains, is a half mile expanse of large volcanic columns up to 40 feet tall, known as the City of Rocks.

The rocks are light brown to pink in color, often covered by various shades of lichen, and eroded into many wonderful shapes and forms. They are the result of wind and water erosion of compacted tuff, formed by eruption of a nearby volcano about 35 million years ago. The eruption was from the Emory Caldera, centered near Hillsboro Peak at the southern end of the Black Range, and which has left other volcanic residues spread across 50 miles of this part of the state, including nearby Table Mountain, recently (2005) added to the park after being purchased from a local landowner. Little vegetation grows around the boulders, just the occasional oak or emory tree - between most are either bare, sandy chambers or narrow, slot-like passages.
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