Arizona. Exploring the Bottomlands of Canyon de Chelly
One of my favorite off-the-beaten-path places is northeastern Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly (pronounced “de shay”). Established as a national monument in 1931, the canyon is 379 kilometers northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico and just east of the small town of Chinle. Named for a Navajo word meaning “rock canyon,” the 339 square kilometer site is surrounded by the Navajo Reservation. It protects the rims, sides, and floors of three major canyons: de Muerto, de Chelly, and Monument. Inside are centuries-old Anasazi (aka Ancestral Puebloan) cliff dwellings that are not open to the public. Although the canyon appears large, it is only about a fifteenth the size of Arizona’s Grand Canyon. An unusual aspect of Canyon de Chelly National Monument is its management. While land is owned by the Navajo Tribal Trust, the monument is managed cooperatively by the Trust and U.S. National Park Service. This arrangement enables Navajo families to continue using the canyon bottomlands as they have for generations. About 40 Navajo (aka Diné) families live, farm, and raise livestock within the monument’s boundaries.
Looking back in time, the canyons were created and altered by complex geological processes. More than 200 million years ago, water from an inland sea receded as layers of sand were uplifted. Eventually the shifting dunes became cross-bedded sedimentary rock. Uplift, coupled with stream erosion, sliced through layers of Paleozoic and Mesozoic rock layers to form the canyons. Today, the canyon’s cliffs are composed of orange and red-colored De Chelly sandstone while the overlying brownish grey caprock is sandstone associated with the Chinle Formation. Some of the rock is stained by long streaks of desert varnish formed by manganese-fixing bacteria. The area’s rugged terrain extends from 1,690 to 2,133 meters above sea level. Water running through the canyons originated to the east in the nearby Chuska Mountains. The area’s diverse assemblage of vegetation ranges from pinyon-juniper woodlands at lower elevations to Ponderosa pine forest at higher altitudes. Floors and bottomland areas are covered by cottonwood trees, meadows, and sandstone rockfaces.
With human occupation dating back more than 5,000 years, Canyon de Chelly is among the oldest continuously inhabited places in North America. Anasazi Puebloan buildings constructed in exfoliated alcoves at the base of canyon walls offered natural protection from enemies and access to nearby agricultural fields. The Anasazi left the canyon area for unknown reasons during the 14th century. Subsequently, Hopi clans passed through the canyon between the 14th and 18th centuries. Traveling from other parts of northern Arizona, the Navajo arrived in the 18th century. More recently, the canyons have witnessed conflict. In 1805, they were invaded by the Spanish and again in 1863 by U.S. soldiers led by Colonel Kit Carson.
I’ve visited Canyon de Chelly’s overlooks a few times without traveling through canyon bottomlands that offer the best views of ancient cliff dwellings. Before 2014, visitors could drive through bottomlands in their own vehicles if they hired a Navajo guide. Another way to see canyon floor areas was to arrange for a so called, “shake and bake” tour that leaves from Thunderbird Lodge in small open-bed trucks. The only location on the canyon floor accessible without a guide is the four kilometer long White House Ruin Trail. Today, access to the valley floor is more restricted so we arranged for a local Navajo guide to drive us in a company-owned vehicle. Our guide picked us up at Cottonwood Creek Campground. Before leaving we were required to pay an entrance fee. We then proceeded in her 4WD Jeep along a route that followed a seasonal streambed called Chinle Wash. Our guide grew up in the Town of Chinle and spent her formative years with her family in the monument’s bottomlands.
The riverbed sometimes served as the road, making it necessary to maintain our speed so as not to become trapped in deep sand. The canyon is filled with piñion pine, sagebrush, and juniper. Near sources of water, we also saw cottonwood and salt-tolerant tamarisk. The monument has 49 species of mammals, eight species of amphibians, and 147 species of birds. Some examples include the Eastern collard lizard, turkey vulture, Great Blue heron, and American black bear. After a few kilometers navigating Canyon de Muerto, we made stops at First Ruin and Ledge Ruin. Our guide was eager to show us petroglyphs and paintings that depict deer, birds, snakes, humans, and geometric shapes. Returning to our vehicle we drove to Antelope Ruin. From there we entered Canyon de Chelly to see White House and Sliding House Ruins. White House Ruin is in an alcove near the base of a 152-meter cliff. It is named for the white plaster used to finish the exterior of its upper level. Our guide pointed out a swastika painted on a rockface near Antelope House Ruin. Created to represent a whirling log, swastikas have been used in Navajo culture for hundreds of years. Our canyon tour ended with our return to Cottonwood Campground.
The next morning, we drove the North and South Rim drives. There is no entrance fee required to visit monument overlooks. Best viewed in the morning because of the sun’s position, North Rim Drive (40 kilometers) has three scenic overlooks and South Rim Drive (24 kilometers) has seven. At most overlooks you need binoculars to see details of adobe dwellings in recessed alcoves across the canyon. Along South Rim Drive (aka Indian Route 7) we stopped at Tunnel Overlook, followed by Tseyi Overlook, Junction Overlook, White House Overlook, Sliding House Overlook, Face Rock Overlook and Spider Overlook. From our last overlook stop we could see Spider Rock, a sandstone spire rising 230 meters from the canyon floor near the confluence of Monument and Canyon de Chelly canyons. Legend says that the rock pinnacle is home to “Spider Grandmother,” an important figure in both Navajo and Hopi folklore. Spider Grandmother lives in an underground kiva and gives advice or medical attention. She also teaches the “beautiful way,” an approach to living in harmony that balances heart, mind, and soul. North Rim Trail (Route 64) took us to Ledge Ruin Overlook, Antelope House Overlook, and the Mummy Cave and Massacre Creek Overlooks. Massacre Cave has a dark history. In 1805 more than 500 Spanish soldiers entered the de Muerto Canyon in response to a Navajo raid on the Town of Cebolletta. Under troops commanded by Lieutenant Antonio Narbona approached, women and children taking shelter in a rock alcove were fired on, resulting in the death of more than a hundred Navajos. It is said that if one listens carefully, it’s still possible to hear the muted cries of Navajo huddled together in the cave.
