CANYON DE CHELLY NATIONAL MONUMENT
Destination content © Bill Weir, used from Moon Handbooks Grand Canyon, 3rd edition.
Maps © Avalon Publishing Group, Inc.
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Spectacular canyons here shelter prehistoric cliff dwellings and traditional Navajo life. Sheer sandstone walls rise as high as 1,000 feet, giving the canyons a fortresslike appearance. The 26-mile-long Canyon de Chelly (pronounced d’SHAY) and adjoining 35-mile-long Canyon del Muerto join a few miles upstream from the visitors center. Rim elevations range from 5,500 feet at the visitors center to 7,000 feet at the end of the scenic drives. Allow at least a full day to see some of the monument’s 83,840 acres. April–October is the best time to visit. Winter brings cold weather and a chance of snow. Afternoon thunderstorms arrive almost daily in late summer, creating thousands of waterfalls that cascade over the rims, stopping when the skies clear.
The small, spread-out town of Chinle, just west of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, takes its name from a Navajo word meaning “where the water flows out,” as the Rio de Chelly emerges from its canyon here.
Nomadic tribes roamed these canyons more than 2,000 years ago, collecting wild foods and hunting game. Little remains of these early visitors, who must have found welcome shelter from the elements in the natural rock overhangs of the canyons. The ancestral Puebloan people (Anasazi in the Navajo language) made their first appearance about a.d. 1, living in alcoves during the winter and brush shelters in summer. By a.d. 500 they had begun cultivating permanent fields of corn, squash, and beans and fashioning pottery. Villagers lived at that time in year-round pit houses—partly underground structures roofed with sticks and mud.
Around a.d. 700 the population began to build above-ground cliff houses of stone. These pueblos (Spanish for “villages”) also contained underground ceremonial rooms, known as kivas, used for social and religious purposes. Most of the cliff houses now visible in Canyon de Chelly date from a.d. 1100–1300, when an estimated 1,000 people occupied the many small villages. At the end of this period the ancestral Puebloan people migrated from these canyons and from other large population centers. Archaeologists speculate that possible causes include floods, drought, overpopulation, and soil erosion.
It’s likely that some of these people moved to the Hopi mesas, as Hopi religion, traditions, and farming practices have many similarities with those of the Canyon de Chelly cliff dwellers. During the next 400 years, Hopi farmers sometimes used the canyons during the growing season, but they returned to the mesas after each harvest.
First entering Canyon de Chelly about a.d. 1700, the Navajo found it ideal for farming and as a base for raiding nearby Native American and Spanish settlements. In 1805, however, even the steep canyon walls proved an inadequate refuge when the Spanish launched a punitive expedition; soldiers reported killing 115 Navajo, including 90 warriors, at what’s now known as Massacre Cave. The Navajo identified the dead as mostly women, children, and old men. During the Mexican era, raids took place in both directions; the Navajo sought food and livestock, while Mexicans kidnapped women and children to serve as slaves.
Contact with white settlers also went badly—they encroached on Navajo land, and U.S. soldiers proved deceitful. Conflict came to an end in the winter of 1863–1864, when Colonel Kit Carson led detachments of the U.S. Cavalry into the canyons. The army destroyed the tribe’s livestock, fruit trees, and food stores and captured as many Navajo as possible. The starving survivors had no choice but to surrender and be herded onto a desolate reservation in eastern New Mexico. After this infamous Long Walk, and four miserable years there, they were permitted to return to their beloved canyons in 1868.
Today, Navajo continue farming and grazing sheep on the canyon floors. You can see their distinctive round hogans next to the fields. More than 50 families live in the canyons, but most spend winters on the canyon rims, returning to their fields after the spring floods have subsided.
Exhibits reveal Native American history from the archaic period (before a.d. 1) to the present, with many fine artifacts. Video programs provide additional insights into the peoples who have lived here, as do regional books available for purchase. A silversmith is often at work creating jewelry. Just outside, the Plant Walk identifies local flora and describes how the Navajo used them; borrow or purchase the leaflet from the visitors center. You can also step into a Navajo hogan nearby. A bulletin board lists scheduled talks, campfire programs, and hikes. The visitors center (P.O. Box 588, Chinle, AZ 86503, 928/674-5500, www.nps.gov/cach) is open 8 a.m.–6 p.m. daily in summer, then 8 a.m.–5 p.m. daily the rest of the year.
Canyons de Chelly and del Muerto
A paved scenic rim drive with viewpoints along each canyon lets you gaze into the depths; binoculars come in handy to see the ruins and other features. Each rim drive takes about two hours. For additional perspectives, you can travel inside the canyons by 4WD vehicle, horseback, or foot.
Except on the self-guided White House Ruin Trail, you may enter the canyons only with an authorized Navajo guide or monument ranger. This rule is strictly enforced to protect the ruins and the privacy of families living in the canyons. All land belongs to the Navajo people; the National Park Service administers policies only within monument boundaries.
Vehicles are occasionally broken into at overlooks. Thieves look for cash, cameras, camcorders, computers, and other valuables, which you’ll want to store out of sight. Also be sure that windows are fully up and doors locked.
If you have a guide, you can hike almost anywhere. Navajos will usually be waiting near the visitors center to accompany you on canyon trips; they can suggest routes depending on your interests and available time. Rangers at the visitors center can help make arrangements and issue the necessary permit. Comfortable walking shoes, water, insect repellent, and a hat will come in handy.
Expect to do some wading. In fact, under the hot summer sun with red rocks all around, you may insist on it—the cool water and the shade of the trees are irresistible. Autumn can bring especially good hiking weather, with comfortable temperatures and the spectacle of cottonwoods turning to gold. Guides charge $15 per hour for up to 15 people with a three-hour minimum. Overnight trips are possible, with additional charges by the guide and landowner of a negotiable $60–100.
Rangers occasionally lead half-day hikes in the lower canyon from late May to the end of September. These are free, but check departure time the day before—hikes leave promptly.
site copyright © Avalon Publishing Group, Inc.