This Arizona volcano hides tunnels that frame celestial events with surgical precision

Roden Crater

James Turrell spotted a unique landform while flying over northern Arizona in 1974. He spent 500 hours searching by air before finding this perfect extinct volcano in the Painted Desert.

The crater rises 580 feet above the desert floor and spans nearly two miles. This volcanic cinder cone last erupted about 900 years ago, though its formation began 400,000 years earlier.

Turrell bought the site in 1977. Since then, he has slowly transformed it into a massive observatory where people can view celestial events through carefully designed openings.

A Pilot’s Vision Takes Flight

Turrell studied perceptual psychology at Pomona College, graduating in 1965. He also learned mathematics, geology, and astronomy—knowledge that proved essential for his crater project.

Growing up Quaker introduced him to the concept of “inner light,” a spiritual idea that runs through all his artwork. This religious background shaped his approach to light as both physical and spiritual.

In the late 1960s, he helped start the California Light and Space Movement, creating rooms where light itself became the artwork. These early experiments led directly to his crater vision.

Reshaping Earth On A Monumental Scale

Workers moved 1.3 million cubic yards of earth between 1999 and 2005 to reshape the crater. This massive effort—equivalent to 130,000 dump truck loads—created precise angles needed for astronomical viewing.

Turrell worked closely with experts like E.C. Krupp from Griffith Observatory and Richard Walker from the U.S. Naval Observatory. Their calculations ensured tunnels and openings would align perfectly with the sun, moon, and stars.

From outside, these changes blend with the natural landscape. The crater looks mostly untouched while its inside has been completely transformed.

The Alpha Tunnel: Earth’s Longest Telescope

The 854-foot Alpha Tunnel cuts through the crater’s eastern side. It works like a giant telescope without an eyepiece, collecting light rather than magnifying it.

A six-foot lens sits at the tunnel’s center. When moonlight passes through, it projects onto a white marble disk in the chamber at the end.

The tunnel creates strange sound effects—voices sound flat halfway through. Turrell designed it with remarkable foresight, calculating alignments that will reach peak accuracy 2,000 years from now as the universe continues expanding.

The Sun | Moon Chamber’s Celestial Calendar

The Sun | Moon Chamber sits at the Alpha Tunnel’s end. Its main feature is a large marble stone set in black basalt.

This room works like a camera obscura—the same principle behind pinhole cameras. Light enters through a small opening and projects images onto the marble surface. Throughout the year, different celestial events appear on the stone.

The southernmost sunset shows up annually, and the marble captures such detailed moon images that viewers can count individual lunar craters. Future additions will show the winter solstice sunrise on the opposite side of the same stone.

The Major Lunar Standstill Alignment

Every 18.61 years, the moon reaches its extreme northern and southern positions in the sky. Astronomers call this the Major Lunar Standstill.

During this event, moonlight streams perfectly down the Alpha Tunnel, creating a detailed moon image on the marble stone. The next occurrence peaks in April 2025. C

reating this precision required help from astronomers who calculated tiny details about Earth’s position and cosmic movement. The northern and southern moons alternate on the stone every 9.3 years, creating a pattern that will continue for millennia.

The South Space Observatory

The South Space points visitors toward the North Star. This fixed point in the night sky has guided travelers for thousands of years.

This area contains an instrument based on the Jai Prakash Yantra from India’s Jaipur observatory. It tracks celestial bodies and events like eclipses within the 18-year, 11-day Saros Cycle—the period after which eclipses repeat with similar features.

A single seat faces the North Star, creating a personal connection with the cosmos. This space serves both as a viewing room and a calendar that tracks the sky’s rhythms.

The Crater’s Eye: A Portal To The Cosmos

The Crater’s Eye sits at the center of the volcanic bowl. It’s one of Turrell’s largest “Skyspaces”—rooms with ceiling openings that frame the sky. Benches circle the room’s edge.

The chamber’s shape enhances sound, making it an “acoustic marvel.” Viewing platforms on the north side let people observe specific celestial events.

Outside, four stone benches with headrests position viewers perfectly to see the sky as a dome rather than infinite space. This effect, called celestial vaulting, changes how we perceive the heavens.

Ancient Astronomy Meets Modern Art

Roden Crater follows a tradition of sky-watching structures built throughout human history. Turrell studied ancient observatories extensively.

He drew ideas from Neolithic sites like Maeshowe in Scotland (older than the pyramids) and Newgrange in Ireland, where winter solstice light enters inner chambers. The work of 16th-century astronomer Tycho Brahe, who created sophisticated “naked eye observatories,” also influenced Turrell’s approach.

The 18th-century Jantar Mantar in Jaipur, India particularly inspired several crater features. Its massive stone instruments for measuring cosmic movements appear in modified forms throughout the site.

The Four-Decade Unfinished Masterpiece

The complete Roden Crater will contain 21 viewing spaces and six tunnels. So far, only six spaces are finished.

Originally scheduled for completion in the late 1980s, the project has faced many delays. Later target dates of 2011 and 2024 have come and gone.

Arizona State University partnered with Turrell in 2019, contributing $1.8 million to help finish the work. Students now study and work at the site. Musician Kanye West donated $10 million after visiting in 2019, giving the project new momentum after years of slow progress.

Visiting Roden Crater

Roden Crater awaits visitors in Arizona’s Painted Desert, about 50 miles northeast of Flagstaff. The site currently remains closed to the general public as James Turrell continues work on this massive naked-eye observatory.

You can experience this extraordinary artwork through special programs arranged by the Skystone Foundation. The “Friends of Roden Crater” program occasionally offers limited access.

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