The volcanic neck rises 1,583 feet (482 m) straight out of the high-desert plain southwest of town. It is the eroded throat of a volcano that blew about 27 million years ago, with the softer surrounding ash long since stripped away. Geologists call it a monadnock or a volcanic plug; the Navajo call it Tsé Bitʼaʼí, the rock with wings.
The pinnacle and its surrounding radiating walls of igneous rock are on the Navajo Reservation, and access to the base is technically restricted — there is no signed visitor area and climbing is forbidden. The classic view is from Indian Service Route 13, the road south of town that swings around the western side of the formation. The drive is unsealed in places but passable in a standard car; the views improve as the rock catches the late afternoon light.