This national monument is a seventeen square mile region of rhyolite pillars, balanced rocks, magnificent cliffs, and canyons. It was unknown to white men until late 1886 when an ex-army sergeant, Neil Erickson (a homesteader) came upon it while he was pursuing a horse stolen from Col. Hughes Safford by an Apache named Massai. The Apache name for this area is Yahdesut ("point of rocks"). Erickson trailed the man and horse until nightfall. While returning to his home, he came upon huge and fantastic rock formation which he found almost overwhelming. His son-in-law Ed Riggs and hiswife (Lillian Riggs) explored the hundreds of acres of wild life and strange formations. Through the efforts of Riggs, the area was set aside as the Chiricahua National Monument by presidential proclamation April 1924. Geologists believe that the land, once relatively level, experienced violent upheaval with molten lava burst-out to spread geological over the plains. Apparently there were so many such eruptions interspersed by centuries of geological inactivity. The early slowly lifted and tilted and erosion gradually created the fantastic forms. These bear many descriptive names, such as Chinamen's Head, THe Bishop, The Ugly Duckling, The Boxing Glove, Riggs named Duck-on-a-Rock, Balanced Rock, Thor's Hammer, and the Totem Pole. Friends and guests visiting the Riggs Faraway Ranch named others.
Barnes, Will C.; Granger, Byrd (ed.) Arizona's names : X marks the place Falconer Pub. Co. : distributed by Treasure Chest Publications, c1983. P. 145
Websites
Arizona Guide: Chiricahua National Monument
http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/chiricahua/national_monument.html
National Park Service: Chiricahua National Monument
http://www.nps.gov/chir/index.htm
Desert USA: Chiricahua National Monument
http://www.desertusa.com/chi/index.html
A narrative history of the Civilian Conservation Corps at Chiricahua
National Monument, Cochise County, Arizona / prepared for National Park
Service, Southwest Support Office; prepared by Jason H. Gart. Mesa, Ariz.
: History International, 2001.
F817.C5
G37 2001
Historic structure report, historical and archeological data sections
: history of the buildings and structures of Faraway Ranch, Chiricahua
National Monument, Arizona / by Louis Torres and Mark Baumler. [Denver,
Colo.?] : Branch of Planning, Alaska/Pacific Northwest/Western Team, U.S.
Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Denver Service Center, 1985.
I
29.88:C 44
A pioneer log cabin in Bonita Canyon [microform] : the history of the
Stafford Cabin : Faraway Ranch Historic District, Chiricahua National Monument,
Arizona / by Dewey Livingston. San Francisco : National Park Service, 1994.
I
29.58/3:C 11
The natural history story of Chiricahua National Monument. Globe,
Ariz., Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1970.
QH105
.A6 J3x
The Unseen world of Chiricahua National Monument [videorecording] /
produced by Finley Holiday Films. Whittier, CA : Finley-Holiday Film
Corp., c1988.
F
817 .C4 U57x 1988 VIDEO
Last Updated: July 15, 2002
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