OverviewBandelier National Monument. It is located in North Central New Mexico...aka "The Land of Enchantment".
Bandelier National Monument is comprised of almost 33,000 acres of rugged, scenic beauty on the slopes of the Jemez Mountains.
Frijoles Canyon is the main attraction to most visitors to Bandelier due to its preservation of ancestral pueblo ruins.
GeologyValles Caldera National Preserve is the remnant of a supervolcano that erupted and collapsed many thousands of years ago.
The volcano was the major force in sculpting the landscape of the Pajarito plateau. Interspersed between the flows of heavy lavas were other avalanches and showerings of volcanic ash in great depth. When cooled and welded together they are called tuff.
After the volcano subsided erosion became the primary factor in forming the landscape. For many thousands of years water drained downhill forming gullies, then ravines from the Jemez Ridge down into the Rio Grande. Frijoles Canyon and its neighboring canyons are the products primarily of water erosion, etched into a one-time smooth slope of volcanic deposits.
Many of the sheer canyon walls provide good cross sections of the lava and ash deposits exposed in cliffs several hundred feet high. These cross sections reveal at their base a flow of lava or basalt, overlain by perhaps 200 vertical feet of tuff, and capped by another flow of lava forming the rimrock of the mesa-top.
Cultureancient Native American culture. People have been living in this canyon for thousands of years. As you wind through the canyon you can certainly imagine how hard life must have been for the people living here.
Some of the dwellings were rock structures built on the canyon floor while others were "cavates" produced by voids in the tuff of the canyon wall and enlarged by humans. The 1.2 mile Loop Trail from the visitor center provides access to these features. kiva that may be entered via a ladder.
Hikingtrails less than 5 miles in length.
Hikers with more endurance will want to venture out of the canyon into the surrounding wilderness. These hikes of more than 10 miles round trip consist of Frijoles Canyon and Rim Trail, Painted Cave, and Yapashi Pueblo.
Recent HistorySome of you may remember the Los Alamos forest fire of 2000. This fire started as a controlled burn in Bandelier that got out of control due to wind. It eventually destroyed over 48,000 acres and 400 families in Los Alamos lost their homes.
Camping and WeatherCamping is available at Frijoles Canyon.
Always check the weather before embarking on your trip.