The San Francisco Peaks

Contrary to what one might imagine, the city of San Francisco cannot be seen from the top of the Peaks. The Peaks were named in 1629 by a group of Franciscan missionaries in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Before the eruption, the Peaks probably looked more like one giant peak with its sides along the lines in the picture below. It is believed that the original peak was more than 16,000 feet high. The highest peak now is Humphrey’s Peak which is 12,633 feet high.