Another area has been considered as an addition to the National Park
System in New Mexico. A 1963 bill introduced in Congress would establish
Valle Grande-Bandelier National Park, about forty-six miles west of
Santa Fe. Valle Grande is part of the Valle Caldera, which is among the
world’s largest and has been the site of extensive studies of calderas
(the collapsed summits of volcanoes). Lessons learned there have been
applied in recognizing and investigating calderas in other places.
Bandelier National Monument, primarily of archeological significance,
lies to the east of the canyon-cut rim of the caldera. As written, the
bill would have incorporated the Monument in the proposed national park.
[Illustration: Part of Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument]