The canyons protected by the Canyon de Chelly National Monument have sheltered prehistoric Pueblo Indians for over a 1,000 years and served as an ancestral stronghold of the Navajo Indians. The ruins of these prehistoric Native American communities are nestled below towering cliffs or perched on high ledges. Located in eastern Arizona near the New Mexico border, Canyon de Chelly National Monument is a sacred landscape to the Navajo Indians. Located in the center of the Navajo Reservation, 83,840 acre Canyon de Chelly National Monument extends from the highlands of the Defiance Plateau and Chuska Mountains in the east to the arid expanse of the Chinle Valley in the west.
Established as a national monument in 1931, Canyon de Chelly continues to support a living community of Navajo families.
The roads along the rim at the top of the canyon running northeast and southeast from Chinle are open to the public. An excellent way to view Canyon de Chelly is to hike the moderate, 2.5 mile White House Ruins trail, which descends 600 feet to the canyon floor. To hike anywhere else in the canyons, visitors must be accompanied by an authorized guide. Guided tours are offered on foot or horseback or on four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Introduction
Steep reddish cliffs towering over wildflower-covered bottomlands characterize this canyon system. Eons ago, ancient streams and fierce winds of northeastern Arizona deposited layers of iron-rich sediments, which then hardened into rock. Waters rushing down from the Chuska Mountains cut deeply into the rock, forming the four canyons visitors see today: Black Rock, Monument, del Muerto and de Chelly. Canyon de Chelly National Monument offers visitors the opportunity to learn about Southwestern Indian history from the earliest Anaszai basketmakers to the Navajo Indians who live and farm here today. Its primary attractions are ruins of Indian villages built between 350 A. D. and 1300 A. D. at the base of sheer red cliffs and in canyon wall caves.
About 2,500 years ago, Anasazi Indians first began cultivating small crops in the fertile bottomlands and building pit houses in the shadow of sheltering cliffs. Later they developed stone houses known as pueblo, many ruins of which can still be seen. They gradually left the area during the thirteenth century, to be replaced by the Navajo at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
The best views of the canyons and ruins are provided along the South Rim Drive, 36 miles with 8 overlooks and the North Rim Drive, 34 miles with 4 overlooks. Highlights of these scenic tours include views of the First Ruin and Junction Ruin from Junction Overlook; White House Ruin, the best known Anasazi cliff dwelling in the canyon, which can be reached on foot on a 2.5 mile round-trip trail from White House Overlook, an 800 foot sandstone spire rising from the canyon floor; Antelope House, named for the colorful drawings of antelope by a Navajo artist 150 years ago; and Mummy Cave, one of the most spectacular dwellings in the park.
History & Culture
Canyon de Chelly was designated a national monument in 1931 to protect and preserve the numerous archeological resources long known to exist here on the canyon rims, walls and bottomlands. Thanks to an arid climate and the shelter of numerous caves and overhangs, an unusual variety of delicate artifacts and organic remains has been preserved. These sites exhibit more than 1500 years of human occupation containing early pithouses, cliff dwellings and more contemporary Navajo hogans established long after the original inhabitants the Anasazi abandoned the area around 1200 A. D. There are also numerous petroglyphs and rock drawings throughout the lengths of Canyon de Chelly.
Today, Canyon de Chelly National Monument is an 84,000 acre archeological sanctuary administered jointly by the National Park Service and the Navajo Nation. At Canyon de Chelly, archeologists observe the transition of prehistoric Anasazi to historic Pueblo, as well as Navajo history and modern life. There are still many unexcavated sites here available for future study.
Nature & Science
Canyon de Chelly National Monument is located on a high plateau in northeastern Arizona near the center of the Navajo Reservation of the Four Corners. It encompasses 130 square miles and three splendid, red-walled canyons Canyon del Muerto, Monument Canyon and Canyon de Chelly, from which it derives its name. The de Chelly sandstone was laid down as sediments during the Permian Period (230 to 205 million years ago). De Chelly sandstone is unusual because it is not horizontally deposited, but is of a type called crossbedded sandstone containing many depositional surfaces, highly inclined to the horizontal and composed of many steeply dipping wedges. Such a deep layer of cross stratification is typical of windblown dune deposits.
The canyons were later carved by erosion from running streams Tsaile and Whiskey creeks join to form Chinle Wash, producing the awesome cliffs and exposing the sandstone to a depth of 800 feet in some places. The spectacular vertical walls make access to the canyon bottom difficult, which has provided ideal protection for both ancient and modern Native Americans for more than two centuries.
Attractions
Antelope House
Antelope House is a dwelling named for the colorful drawings of antelope by a Navajo artist 150 years ago.
Canyon de Chelly
Sheer red cliffs rise up from the dusty yellow sand to meet the deep blue southwestern sky.
First Ruin and Junction Ruin
These ruins can be viewed from Junction Overlook.
Mummy Cave
Mummy Cave is one of the most spectacular dwellings in the park.
White House Ruin
Visitors can reach White House Ruin, the best-known Anasazi cliff dwelling in the canyon, via a 2.5 mile round trip hiking trail from White House Overlook.
Recreation
The 2.5 mile White House Nature Trail provides the only way visitors can enter the canyon without a ranger guide. This scenic trail to White House from the overlook on South Rim Road descends 600 feet to the canyon floor. All other hiking within the canyon at Canyon de Chelly National Monument requires a Park Service permit and an authorized Navajo guide, except along the White House Ruins Trail. One guide may take up to 15 people.
Getting There
From Interstate 40
Just inside the eastern boundary of Arizona, take U. S. Route 191 north 75 miles to Chinle, AZ, then drive another 3 miles to the Monument Visitor Center.
Traveler Facts
Contact Information
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
PO Box 588
Chinle, AZ 86503
Phone: 928-674-5500
Fax: 928-674-5507
Operating Hours & Seasons
The Visitor Center at Canyon de Chelly National Monumentis open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., October to April; and 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., May to September.
Permits
Hiking within the canyon requires a Park Service permit and an authorized Navajo guide, except along the 2.5 mile White House Ruins Trail. To drive on the canyon bottom, a 4-wheel drive vehicle, a Park Service permit and an authorized Navajo guide are required.
Programs
Guided tours of Canyon de Chelly National Monument are available. Jeep tours are available from Thunderbird Lodge in Chinle.
Lodging
Lodging is available at Thunderbird Lodge in the park’s South Rim region; reservations can be made in advance. Other overnight accommodations are available in Chinle and Window Rock, AZ and in Monument Valley and Gallup, NM.
Weather/Climate
Canyon de Chelly National Monument is open year-round, but some of the inner canyons are impassable in winter and at certain other times of the year.
At an elevation of 5,000 to 6,000 feet, the Canyon de Chelly area is characterized by extremes of temperature and very low humidity. Temperatures in the canyons can range between 105 degrees F. in summer to -30 degrees F in winter. The average annual rainfall is about 9.6 inches.
October 19, 2009
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