El Pinacate

El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar is one of the strangest landscapes in North America and, since 2013, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Two elements dominate. The first is volcanic: a shield of black basalt flows and cinder cones, punctured by enormous maar craters - El Elegante the most famous, a near-perfect circle about 1,600 metres across and 250 deep, formed when rising magma met groundwater and exploded. The second is the Gran Desierto de Altar, the largest active dune field in North America, a sea of sand rolling west toward the Colorado delta. The contrast of black rock and white-gold sand under desert light is the reason photographers make the trip; the reason NASA came in the Apollo era was that the terrain resembled the lunar surface closely enough for crew training. A modern visitor centre explains the geology, the O'odham cultural presence and the desert's biology; from there, unpaved loops reach the craters and cone viewpoints, with camping at designated sites and a night sky that is among the darkest in the region.

What's there

• El Elegante crater - the great maar circle in black rock.
• The lava fields - cinder cones and flows to the horizon.
• The dune sea - the Gran Desierto's sand ridges.
• The night sky - desert dark with no light domes.

When to go

November to March; summer heat here is life-threatening and most visits stop. Early morning and late afternoon give the light and the temperatures.

Things to know

This is remote desert: register at the visitor centre, carry far more water than seems necessary, tell someone your route, and do not attempt the sand tracks without a suitable vehicle. Phone signal disappears quickly. Camping is primitive.

Nearby

Puerto Penasco's beaches lie southwest; the Sonoyta border crossing sits north.