Cathedral Cliff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cathedral Cliff |
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Southeast aspect
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 5,810 ft (1,770 m) |
| Prominence | 360 ft (110 m) |
| Isolation | 1.16 mi (1.87 km) |
| Parent peak | Table Mesa ( 5,850 ft) |
| Geography | |
 Cathedral Cliff
Location in New Mexico
Cathedral Cliff
Location in the United States
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| Location | San Juan County, New Mexico, US |
| Parent range | Chuska Mountains Colorado Plateau |
| Topo map | USGS Table Mesa |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | Oligocene |
| Mountain type | Volcanic plug |
| Type of rock | Volcanic breccia |
Cathedral Cliff is a cool natural landmark in New Mexico, USA. It's a tall rock formation that stands 5,810 feet (about 1,770 meters) high. You can find it in San Juan County, on land belonging to the Navajo Nation.
This amazing cliff is a type of volcanic plug. Imagine a volcano that erupted a very long time ago. When the eruption stopped, magma (molten rock) hardened inside the volcano's vent. Over millions of years, the softer rock around it wore away, leaving behind this tough, hard core. That's a volcanic plug!
Cathedral Cliff is easy to spot from U.S. Route 491. It's about 13 miles south of a town called Shiprock, New Mexico. This cliff rises about 400 feet (122 meters) above the flat desert land around it, making it a very noticeable feature.
It's part of the Navajo Volcanic Field. This area has many interesting rock formations that were created by volcanoes around 30 million years ago. During that time, called the Oligocene epoch, unusual rocks like minette formed here. Cathedral Cliff is about 9.5 miles southeast of Shiprock, which is another famous volcanic plug in the area. Its closest tall neighbors are Table Mesa and Barber Peak.
Discovering Cathedral Cliff's Climate
Cathedral Cliff is located in a semi-arid climate zone. This means the area gets very little rain. It has cold winters and hot summers.
When it does rain, the water flows off the cliff. This water then drains into Dead Mans Wash. This wash is like a small riverbed that is usually dry. It eventually connects to the San Juan River. The San Juan River is part of a much larger system called the Colorado River drainage basin. A drainage basin is like a giant bowl where all the rain and snowmelt collect and flow into one main river.
