Fire Place Rock

After leaving camp the morning of November 9, 1846, Emory and the advance party started down the Gila River to break the trail. They surmounted the tip of a small peninsula jutting out from North Butte, which causes the river to form a horseshoe.  West of this peninsula they found a striking feature they named "Fire Place Rock." 

Emory's comment:

Turning the sharp angle of the promontory, we discovered a high perpendicular cliff of calcareous spar and baked argillaceous rock, against which the river also butted, seamed so as to represent distinctly the flames of a volcano.

Editor's note:  This rock has been rather difficult to rediscover.  After exploring the area thoroughly, however, I believe that we have found the rock depicted in the report.  Here is a photo:

For a description of our investigations in the area while searching for this rock, and an explanation of why it looks so different from the picture in the report, click here to visit the Finding Fire Place Rock page. 

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