Qualla: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: Introduction

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mr. Vitale (talk), CC BY 3.0. The Keresan word is kasha-katuwe - white cliffs. Stand among them and the name makes perfect sense. Pale conical spires rise from the desert floor like a gathering of stone tents, some capped with darker boulders that balance improbably on their pointed tips. This is the Pajarito Plateau between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, where volcanic eruptions six to seven million years ago deposited thick layers of ash and rock that wind and water have been sculpting ever since. The Cochiti Pueblo people have known this landscape for centuries. The rest of the world caught up in January 2001, when President Bill Clinton designated it a national monument.

Image: Mr. Vitale (talk) | CC BY 3.0

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: Written in Volcanic Ash

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Khlnmusa, CC BY-SA 4.0. The geology here reads like a disaster story frozen in stone. Between six and seven million years ago, eruptions in the Jemez Mountains volcanic field sent pyroclastic flows racing across the landscape - superheated clouds of gas, ash, and rock fragments traveling at hurricane sp...

Image: Khlnmusa | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: Cochiti Pueblo's Backyard

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mr. Vitale (talk), CC BY 3.0. Kasha-Katuwe sits on land near Cochiti Pueblo, one of the Keresan-speaking communities that have inhabited the Rio Grande valley for centuries. The monument is co-managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Cochiti Pueblo tribe, a partnership that reflects the deep connectio...

Image: Mr. Vitale (talk) | CC BY 3.0

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: Four Years of Silence

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Marshallhenrie, CC BY-SA 4.0. In March 2020, the monument closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It stayed closed for over four years - far longer than most public lands shutdowns. The extended closure reflected both public health concerns and the Cochiti Pueblo community's desire to protect their people. When ...

Image: Marshallhenrie | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument: Walking Between the Spires

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NewMexicophotographer1, CC BY-SA 4.0. The monument sits between 5,700 and 6,400 feet above sea level, high desert country where the air is thin and the sun is relentless. Slot canyons wind between the formations, their walls narrowing until you can touch both sides at once. Above, the tent rocks rise in pale ranks ag...

Image: NewMexicophotographer1 | CC BY-SA 4.0