Facts About the Park

The Nevada State Legislature in June 2007 authorized establishment of Nevada's first new State Park in eighteen years - Monte Cristo’s Castle. It is located thirty-five miles north of Tonopah off US95/US6 highway at Blair Junction.

GEOLOGY and HISTORY of MONTE CRISTO’S CASTLE

From Blair Junction on US 95, a short drive on an existing dirt road will take you to this jewel in the desert.  This area is covered with delicate, lacy sculptures of white eroded ash left from the past explosive volcanic eruptions   in this area.  There is also limestone from multiple geologic eras when water covered the area.  Sometimes the water was deep ocean water and sometimes shallow fresh water.  The limestone and ash has eroded into hundreds of different formations called hoodoos.  There are irregular shaped pillars and spires with layers of volcanic tuff (cemented ash) forming wavy horizontal lines along the vertical folds of white erosion.
 

The canyons are covered with boulders of pink with taffy-like swirls of white.  The explosive eruptions of the past covered the area with rhyolite and adesite forming hillsides of pink, gray, pale brown or white.  You will also see shades of lavender, green, red, and orange in the rocks and soil in the area.  Atop the puffy, ash surface sit boulders of incredible shapes that pique the imagination looking like a wide variety of animals and mythical characters.  These boulders decompose in the elements of nature at different rates; the softer parts crumble  more quickly than the resistance layers.  Some erosion is extremely delicate, some picturesque, and some fanciful.
 

This area is a spectacular, small scale landscape that competes with national parks of the desert west for beauty and visual excitement.  Think of it as a geologic mini park close to a well traveled highway.

The Monte Cristo’s Castle area is a representation of a multitude of geologic eras that formed our earth.  In addition to  the eras when deep ocean water and shallow fresh water covered the area, the area shook during 6.5 million years with multiple volcanic explosions that showered the area with volcanic materials from the size of dust particles to huge blocks of rock.  Few areas have such a diverse geologic history in such a small land area. The diverse material from possibly 425 million years has eroded slowly to expose the landscape of today.
 

From an outlook in the center of the Monte Cristo’s Castle area one can see:

• The highest peak in Nevada that attracts hikers from all over the U. S.

• The single best birding site in Nevada

• The Crescent Sand dunes

• Two dry lake areas for land sailing

• Hiking trailhead for the 75-year-old, 66-mile Toiyabe Crest Trail

• Hunting and fishing areas of Fish Lake Valley, Clayton Valley,  Lone Mountain,  the Monte Cristo Range, and Big Smoky Valley

• On the horizon one can see the mountains that contain three wilderness areas-

             Arc Dome, Alta Toquima, and Table Mountain

• Thousands of miles of dirt roads for off-road vehicles

• The state’s newest (or youngest)  volcano 
   

CACHES: A  Geocache and an Earthcache have both been set up in the area. Visit www.geocaching.com  and  www.earthcache.org for more information on geocaching and earthcaching.

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