Meet America’s newest national park: Chiricahua National Park

A national monument unknown to most people in the United States, let alone the world, has just earned an upgrade.

Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona is now designated Chiricahua National Park per legislation signed into law last month.

At roughly 12,000 acres it is far from among the largest parks in the National Park Service’s portfolio, but it is still a gem.

NPS says the upgrading of the monument to national park status “recognizes the national significance of the area’s extraordinary natural and cultural resources and marks a new chapter for one of Arizona’s most distinctive landscapes.”

Found in the southeastern corner of the state of Arizona near the town of Wilcox, Chiricahua was once home to the Chiricahua Apache Native American tribe. Thus, the site preserves thousands of years of history of human settlement in the region.

Chiricahua is most famous for its volcanic landscape. Throughout the park one will find towers of rhyolite, a type of extrusive igneous rock. The rock was placed there by a volcanic eruption that occurred some 27 million years ago, leaving huge deposits of lava that then cooled and eroded over time.

The original Chiricahua National Monument was established as a federally protected area in 1924.

Elevated over much of the surrounding lower desert environment, Chiricahua is also an ecological island boasting hundreds of species of fauna and flora.

Though it is not far from the Interstate 10 highway, Chiricahua is overlooked and not know as a popular tourist destination. Its new designation as Chiricahua National Park will almost certainly change this, enhancing its popularity and drawing more crowds.

“Chiricahua has been part of the National Park System for more than a century, and this new designation marks an exciting chapter in its history,” said Jessica Bowron, Comptroller of the National Park Service.

“While its name is changing, our commitment remains the same: protecting this remarkable landscape and its cultural heritage while providing opportunities for visitors to experience and enjoy it for generations to come.”  

Visitors to Chiricahua National Park will get to enjoy camping, birding, wildlife viewing, hiking, and a few scenic drives. Its isolation should protect it from becoming too overcrowded.