Kendrick Peak

Kendrick Peak
Kendrick Peak as seen from the San Francisco Peaks
Highest point
Elevation10,425 ft (3,178 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence2,478 ft (755 m)[2]
Coordinates35°24′29″N 111°51′3″W / 35.40806°N 111.85083°W / 35.40806; -111.85083[1]
Geography
Kendrick Peak is located in Arizona
Kendrick Peak
Kendrick Peak
LocationCoconino County, Arizona, U.S.
Topo mapUSGS Kendrick Peak
Geology
Mountain typeLava dome
Rock type(s)Dacite and rhyolite
Volcanic fieldSan Francisco volcanic field
Last eruption1.4 million years ago
Climbing
Easiest routeKendrick Peak Trail[3]

Kendrick Peak or Kendrick Mountain is one of the highest peaks in the San Francisco volcanic field north of the city of Flagstaff in the U.S. state of Arizona and is located on the Coconino Plateau in Coconino County.

Kendrick Peak rises to a height of 10,425 feet (3,178 m), which makes it the 11th or 12th tallest summit (depending on the source) in Arizona.[4] Kendrick Peak is a lava dome between 2.7 and 1.4 million years old consisting primarily of dacite and rhyolite flows that were partly buried by andesite according to the USGS.

Kendrick Peak is in the Kendrick Mountain Wilderness which is administered jointly by the Kaibab National Forest and the Coconino National Forest. A fire lookout, staffed by the United States Forest Service during the week and by volunteers on the weekends, has stood on top of Kendrick Peak since the early 1900s.

There are three maintained trails to the summit of Kendrick Peak—Kendrick Mountain Trail, Pumpkin Trail and Bull Basin Trail.

Along the Kendrick Mountain Trail, near the summit of Kendrick Peak, there is a Colorado pinyon (Pinus edulis) growing at an altitude of nearly 10,400 ft (3,170 m). This is a rare high-elevation example of this species growing amongst Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and limber pine (Pinus flexilis).

In the year 2000, the Kendrick Wilderness and Kendrick Peak were involved in a large wildfire, the results of which are still[when?] quite evident to hikers or visitors to the peak. In an effort to return the forest to its "pre-fire" state, cattle are sometimes grazed near the Kendrick Mountain Trail trailhead. In 2017, the Boundary Fire started after lightning struck the northeast side of Kendrick Peak.[5][6]

Geology

Kendrick Peak is a dome volcano,[7] with some having multiple extrusion vents. Other Arizona examples of dome volcanoes are Mount Elden, Bill Williams Mountain, and Sitgreaves Mountain.[7] See List of lava domes for more examples worldwide.

Snow clouds over Kendrick Mountain

References

  1. ^ a b "Kendrick". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  2. ^ "Kendrick Peak, Arizona". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  3. ^ "Kendrick Mountain Trail". Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  4. ^ "Arizona 10,000-foot Peaks". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  5. ^ "2017 Wildfire Season: An Overview Southwestern U.S" (PDF). Forest Stewards Guild. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  6. ^ "Boundary Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Luchhitta, Ivo (2001). Hiking Arizona's Geology. Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books. pp. 128–131. ISBN 978-0898867305.
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