If you tell someone you are going to visit City of Rocks, you need to be sure and tell them which state: New Mexico or Idaho. For this trip, we went to Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve near Almo, Idaho.
The erosion of granite from the Almo Pluton accounts for most of the spires and pinnacles, bread loaves, and other distinctive formations in City of Rocks. The Almo Pluton is a large mass of slowly-cooled granitic rock . It intruded into the much older Green Creek Complex about 28 million years ago. A few granite spires in the park, however, are remnants of this ancient Green Creek Complex. This granite is 2.5 billion years old and is some of the oldest rock in the United States.
Photographs from City of Rocks National Reserve
These are photos taken during our short trip to City of Rock in May 2017.
Learn more about City of Rocks
To learn more about what to do while at City of Rocks National Reserve, go to the NPS Website. For more information about the facinating geology of this area, look at these sections in the NPS Website:
- https://www.nps.gov/ciro/learn/nature/geology.htm for an overview
- https://www.nps.gov/ciro/learn/nature/geological-features.htm for information about specific features.
Other Idaho photographs
Here are some other photographs taken in Idaho:
Purchasing our photographs
If you would like to license a photo or order a print, contact us using the form to the right. We will do our best to meet your needs.