shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona

north of Flagstaff, at the foot of Sunset Crater

Bonito Lava Flow

Name: Bonito Lava Flow — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the black the cone left behind.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“A 1.8-square-mile sheet of black basalt at the foot of Sunset Crater inside the San Francisco Volcanic Field, north of Flagstaff. The flow froze near the end of the cone's eruption around 1085, leaving aa rubble, a collapsed lava tube, and small hornitos along its surface. A one-mile loop crosses its edge from the Lenox Crater pull-off.

from the studio

— bring it home

Bonito Lava Flow, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Bonito Lava Flow

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Bonito Lava Flow sits at about 6,900 feet inside Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field on the southern Colorado Plateau. The flow covers roughly 1.8 square miles at the northern foot of Sunset Crater cinder cone, the youngest volcano in the field. Access is from US-89 about fifteen miles north of Flagstaff, on the loop road shared with Wupatki National Monument. The visitor center sits at the western edge of the flow.

— informed by National Park Service — Sunset Crater Volcano, Wikipedia — San Francisco Volcanic Field

— the stone

The flow is aa basalt — a rough, broken surface laid down by relatively slow-moving, high-viscosity lava in the late phase of the eruption. The US Geological Survey dates the cone-building eruption to roughly 1085, based on tree-ring scars at nearby Wupatki and paleomagnetic analysis of the flow itself. Pressure ridges, squeeze-ups, and a collapsed segment of the lava tube called the Bonito Pit remain visible from the Lava Flow Trail. Vent ridges shift colour from black to oxidised red on the cone above.

— informed by USGS — Sunset Crater eruption dating

— the visit

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is open year-round; the Lava Flow Trail and Lenox Crater Trail leave from pull-offs on the Sunset Crater–Wupatki loop road. A federal entrance fee covers both monuments for seven days. Climbing the cinder cone itself has been prohibited since 1973 to protect the slope. The basalt holds heat through August afternoons; April and October carry the gentler light. The Bonito Campground sits across the road from the flow, operated by the Coconino National Forest.

— informed by NPS — Plan your visit

— where

United States · Coconino County, Arizona

— within

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

— elevation

2,103 m · 6,900 ft

— position

35.3653° N · 111.5044° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

1 km S

Sunset Crater

cinder cone

30 km N

Wupatki Pueblo

ancestral pueblo

24 km SW

Flagstaff

city

Bonito Lava Flow

Sunset Crater

Wupatki Pueblo

Flagstaff

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Bonito Lava Flow — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

During the eruption of Sunset Crater around 1085, dated by tree-ring scars at Wupatki and paleomagnetic study of the basalt. The flow froze in the late phase of the event.

Roughly 1.8 square miles at the northern base of Sunset Crater cone. The flow's edge is reached on a one-mile loop trail from the monument's main road.

Aa basalt, with a broken, rubbly surface formed by slow-moving high-viscosity lava. Pressure ridges, squeeze-ups, and a collapsed lava tube called the Bonito Pit remain visible.

Yes, on the marked Lava Flow Trail. Off-trail walking is prohibited to protect the cryptobiotic soil and unstable basalt blades. Climbing Sunset Crater itself has been closed since 1973.

At Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, about fifteen miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona, off US-89. The monument shares a loop road with Wupatki National Monument inside the Coconino National Forest.

Sunset Crater is dormant. The San Francisco Volcanic Field as a whole remains classified as active by the US Geological Survey, with the next eruption likely from a new vent rather than the existing cone.

— about the piece in your home

For a Flagstaff customer the Medium reads with quiet recognition. Sunset Crater and the Bonito Flow are the most-visited volcanic landscape in northern Arizona; the black basalt is a local signature.

High-desert modern, mid-century with warm neutrals, and dark-walled studies. The black basalt holds against bone-white, oak, and oxidised-iron metalwork; it answers warm terracotta nearby.

A Large fits most consoles and entryways. Above a sofa a four-tile Mural carries the flow's banding without crowding; a nine-tile Mural suits a long, single-tone wall.

Yes, with a Dura Satin or Matte finish, both scratch- and steam-resistant. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall placement.

A soft microfibre cloth and clean water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure beneath a thin glossy finish, so cleaners and solvents are not needed.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made and hand-finished in a single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, with no licensing or third-party reproduction.

— if this one stayed with you