List of volcanic craters in Arizona facts for kids

Volcanic Craters in Arizona

S P Crater

Imagine a giant bowl-shaped hole in the ground! That's often what's left after a volcano erupts. These are called volcanic craters. The United States National Geodetic Survey has found 28 of these cool craters right here in Arizona. Many of them are found in northern Arizona, where volcanoes were active a long time ago.

Craters in Coconino County

Double Crater

Sunset Crater

Coconino County, near the city of Flagstaff, is home to many volcanic craters. This area is part of the San Francisco volcanic field, which has seen many eruptions over millions of years.

Here are some of the interesting craters you can find there:

• Black Bottom Crater
• Campbell Crater
• Colton Crater
• Double Crater is an extinct volcano. This means it's not expected to erupt again. It formed during the Pleistocene epoch, which was a very long time ago, often called the Ice Age.
• Francis Crater
• Haywire Crater
• Junction Crater
• Lenox Crater
• Maroon Crater
• Merriam Crater
• Moon Crater
• North Sheba Crater
• O'Neill Crater
• Old Caves Crater
• Pinnacle Crater
• Rattlesnake Crater
• Robinson Crater was named after Henry H. Robinson, a researcher from the United States Geological Survey.
• Roden Crater is another extinct volcano. It's now part of an amazing art project by artist James Turrell.
• S P Crater is a type of volcano called a cinder cone. Cinder cones are usually small, steep-sided volcanoes built from volcanic ash and rock fragments. It's about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Flagstaff.
• Saddle Crater
• South Sheba Crater
• Stewart Crater
• Strawberry Crater
• Sunset Crater is a famous cinder cone volcano. It's part of the Sunset Crater National Monument, a protected area where you can learn about its history.
• The Sproul

Craters in Cochise County

• Paramore Crater

Craters in Greenlee County

• Mumphry's Peak: This is a dormant (sleeping) cinder cone volcano. You can easily see it from the town of Clifton, Arizona. Even though the volcano is dormant, the area still has some geological activity, like hot springs!

Other Notable Craters

• Meteor Crater: This famous crater was not made by a volcano! It was formed about 50,000 years ago when a huge nickel-iron meteorite, about 50 meters (54 yards) wide, crashed into the Earth. It's a powerful reminder of how space rocks can change our planet's surface.