The Beauty of an Unfortunately Named Volcano

This ancient volcanic crater north of Flagstaff, Arizona is known as S.P. Crater. It is a cinder cone volcano located in the San Francisco volcanic field, 25 miles (40 km) north of Flagstaff and is surrounded by several other cinder cones which are older and more eroded. The crater is a striking feature on the desert horizon and has a well-defined lava flow that extends for 4.3 miles (7 km) downhill to the north.

I captured this image while flying north of Flagstaff on my way to Kingman, Arizona. This was shot very early in the morning under alpenglow light conditions which give the image a golden glow across the desert sands.  

---

Here is a link to google maps for the location of this beautiful place.   

---

The naming of this unique crater is a bit of folk lore from the Old West:

Mr. C. J. Babbit, an 1880's rancher and early landowner of the mountain, expressed his opinion that the mountain resembled a pot of excrement (Shit Pot), and this became the accepted name. When viewed from certain angles on the ground, the combination of the smooth round shape of the cone, the dark lava spatter on the rim, and the long dark lava flow extruding from the base does indeed resemble the unfortunate name. 

But historically, cartographers (mapmakers) have refused to spell out the full name, and the mountain has been shown on maps and other literature with the abbreviated name for ages. 

---

This image is from my ongoing project in which I am trying to raise awareness of the 47% of the USA and 90% of Canada that remain unpopulated wilderness.  

Where Eagles Fly - The American Wilderness Expedition is my personal mission to introduce people to these amazing locations that surround us.  

If you like what you see here upvote then resteemit so that others may experience these wondrous places as well. And if you'd like these images to be part of your feed then follow me. 

Yehaw!!