THE WORLD, EXPLAINED.

NASA highlights the volcanic landscape of Chiricahua National Park

An October 28 Earth Observatory feature explains Arizona’s dramatic rock formations.

By Ayal · October 28, 2026

Organ Pipe Rocks seen from Bonita Canyon Drive at Chiricahua, Arizona, in December 2023. Archival ground-level photograph; not the July 2026 Landsat image discussed by NASA. w_lemay — CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Organ_Pipe_Rocks_from_Bonita_Canyon_Drive,_Chiricahua_National_Monument,_Willcox,_AZ_-_54293314401.jpg License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 Provider-sized copy; no content edits. Display may crop to fit cards.

NASA’s Earth Observatory featured Chiricahua in southeastern Arizona on October 28, explaining how ancient volcanic deposits, erosion and weathering produced its distinctive rock pillars and canyons. The feature describes the area’s October 2026 redesignation as a national park.

Its satellite view was captured by Landsat 9 on July 2, 2026, rather than on the feature’s publication day. NASA describes a landscape shaped by a volcanic eruption about 27 million years ago. The photograph accompanying this brief is a separately credited archival ground-level view.