The largest hoodoos are found towards the south side of the amphitheater, formed of reddish ash topped by harder lava caprocks, mixed with other pinnacles made entirely of the ash, and a variety of other undulating formations. The rocks (cinders, ash and lava) are mostly a rich reddish-brown color, though some scattered outcrops are black or grey, and all contrast with the bright green vegetation around the perimeter and between some of the formations, creating a very photogenic scene. The western slopes are conventional in appearance, formed of smooth black ash, partly wooded, but much more spectacular is the northeast side, as this has been eroded into a curving amphitheater lined by corrugated cliffs and filled with pinnacles, ridges and narrow gullies. One quite well-known location is Red Mountain, a thousand foot high cinder cone which is unusual in outline, being U-shaped (when viewed from above) rather than circular, with the opening angled westwards.
Some are found within the small Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, while most of the others are on USFS land, part of Coconino National Forest. The San Francisco Volcanic Field north of Flagstaff contains several hundred cinder cones and other volcanic relics, centered on the San Francisco Peaks which rise to 12,633 feet.
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