A visit to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced can'yun duh shay') should be on your must-do list if you want to see beautiful and historical natural wonders in Arizona.
Canyon de Chelly is on the Colorado Plateau. The earliest record of humans is between 2500 and 200 B.C. Canyon de Chelly is really several canyons, including Canyon del Muerto. In the deeper part of the canyon the walls are more than 1,000 feet above the canyon floor.
The periods of human history here are broken up into periods: Archaic, Basketmaker, Pueblo, Hopi, Navajo, The Long Walk and Trading Days. The National Monument was established in 1931 and encompass about 84,000 acres. It lies within the Navajo Reservation. Although the Canyon is administered by the U.S. Government, it belongs to the Navajo people who continue to live in and around it today as they have for centuries.
One of the most photographed points in Northern Arizona is Spider Rock. It is at the junction of Canyon de Chelly and Monument Canyon. In the photos that follow you'll see the view from the south rim. Spider Rock is about 800 feet high. In the photo you can see roads and farmed land on the canyon floor. There is livestock in the canyon.
A jeep tour inside the canyon is advisable; many of the sights are not visible from the rim. There are several ruins that can be seen. They had living and storage areas and ceremonial rooms called kivas. Fortresses were built for protection from invaders.
The White House Ruin in Canyon de Chelly is about 1,000 years old. There are two dwellings, an upper and a lower. At one time the walls of the lower structure reached up to the base of the upper dwelling which was covered with white plaster. It is not Navajo--it was built by ancient Pueblan people.
Enjoy these pictures of Canyon de Chelly and Spider Rock.
Next stop: Walnut Canyon >>
