Canyon de Chelly National Monument was established
on April 1, 1931 as a unit of the
National Park Service.
It is located in
northeastern Arizona
within the
boundaries of the Navajo
Nation. It preserves ruins of the early indigenous
tribes that lived in the area, including the
Ancient Pueblo Peoples (also called
Anasazi) and
Navajo. The monument
covers and encompasses the floors and rims of the three major
canyons: de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument.
These canyons were cut
by streams with headwaters in the Chuska mountains
just to the east of the monument.
Name
The name
Chelly (or
Chelley) is a Spanish
borrowing of the
Navajo word
Tséyiʼ, which meaning
"canyon" (literally "inside the rock"
tsé "rock" +
-yiʼ "inside of, within"). The Navajo pronunciation is .
The Spanish pronunciation of
de Chelly was adapted into
English, apparently through modelling after a French-like
spelling pronunciation, and is now
(dəshā').
Description
Canyon de Chelly is unique among National Park service units, as it
consists entirely of Navajo Tribal Trust Land which remains in the
ownership of the Navajo Nation and is home to the canyon community,
while park matters are administered by the National Park Service.
Access to the canyon floor is restricted, and visitors are allowed
to travel in the canyons only when accompanied by a park ranger or
an authorized Navajo guide. The only exception to this rule is the
White House Ruin Trail. Most park visitors arrive by
automobile and view Canyon de Chelly from the rim, following both
North Rim Drive and South Rim Drive. Ancient ruins and geologic
structures are visible, but in the distance, from turnoffs on each
of these routes. Tours of the canyon floor can be booked at the
visitor center. There is no fee to see the canyon.
The National Monument was listed on the
National Register of
Historic Places on August 25, 1970.
The park's distinctive
geologic feature is
Spider Rock, a sandstone spire that rises from the canyon
floor at the junction of Canyon de Chelly and Monument Canyon.
Spider Rock can be seen from South Rim Drive. It has served as the
scene of a number of television commercials, and was the location
for the filming of
Spider-Man 2.
According to traditional Navajo beliefs the taller of the two
spires is the home of
spider
woman.
Gallery
Image:Canyon de Chelly White House.jpg|White House
RuinsImage:Canyon de Chelly Spider Rock.jpg|Spider RockImage:Canyon
de Chelly panorama of valley from mountain.jpg|Canyon de Chelly,
1941,
Ansel Adams
photographImage:CynDChelly L7 2000-09-12.jpg|False-color
Landsat 7 image of the canyon (
more
information)Image:NE AZ-NW NM NASA.jpg|Satellite image of area
with Canyon de Chelly National Monument marked as (CdC)File:View at
Canyon de Chelly National Monument.jpg|View of rocks
See also
References
- Grant, Campbell. "Canyon de Chelly: Its People and Rock
Art" . University of Arizona Press, 1983. ISBN
0-8165-0523-3.
External links
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