Chiricahua National Monument

The pinnacles, balanced rocks, and spires found at Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona were created 27 million years ago by one of the largest known volcanic eruptions in the American Southwest. The land within this wilderness holds cultural and spiritual significance for the Chiricahua Apache, who called it the Land of Standing-Up Rocks. In 1887, Neil and Emma Erickson, Swedish immigrants, took up residence at Faraway Ranch. Later, the Erickson’s daughter, Lillian, and her husband, Ed, would promote this “wonderland of rocks” as a tourist attraction, successfully supporting the establishment of Chiricahua National Monument in 1924. Lillian helped turn Faraway Ranch into a guest ranch in the 1910s and ran it for more than five decades, despite losing both her hearing and her sight.  In 2021, the park received its International Dark Sky Place certification for the exceptional quality of its starry nights. For almost a century, Chiricahua National Monument has preserved our nation’s complex cultural and natural history, and continues as a place of recreation and reflection for all who visit.