Canyon de Chelly, Arizona (Page 1 of 3)

Introduction

Canyon de Chelly Sandstone. Photo by Bill Belknap, courtesy of Cline Library Special Collections, NAU

Canyon de Chelly is an important natural and archaeological area of the Colorado Plateau located in the northeastern corner of Arizona on the Navajo Nation. The canyon walls are formed by petrified sand dunes, deposited when much of southwestern North America was a windswept, lifeless desert during the Permian Era, 230 million years B.P.

Over time, erosion of this sandstone, known as the de Chelly formation, has produced countless caves, alcoves and rock shelters in the canyon walls which were used by Native Americans throughout prehistoric and historic times. In addition to de Chelly, several side canyons of varying size cut into the Defiance Plateau, sheltering well-preserved prehistoric Indian sites. More than a thousand years of human occupation are represented by the many petroglyphs and pictographs found in this dramatic setting, from handprints to shamanistic figures.

James Stevenson, on an 1882 Smithsonian Institution expedition in the region, originally found the remains of prehistoric Indian burials in the largest tributary canyon of Canyon de Chelly, leading to its name, Canyon del Muerto, or "Canyon of the Dead." The name de Chelly is actually an Hispanicized version of the Navajo word for canyon, tséyi', while Tsegi Canyon in nearby Navajo National Monument reflects an Anglicized version.

The meandering steams that carved the canyons originate in the Chuska Mountains to the east. These streams, some of which are ephemeral, are important riparian corridors as they wind their way westward, eventually emptying into Chinle Wash. Except for the last few miles, the streams and tributaries are enclosed by vertical-walled canyons about 1,000 feet high. Almost every vertical canyon wall in de Chelly is stained by dark deposits of manganese and iron oxide. These blue/black and red streamers appear as if they have been painted onto the rock, earning them the name "tapestries."

Temperatures in the de Chelly canyons range from 104°F in the summer to -30°F in the winter. Despite these extremes, the alluvial benches and coves of the canyons provide ideal farming conditions during the growing season. Flash floods often occur after heavy summer rainfall. After these floods retreat, saturated sandy areas on the canyon floor can become quicksand, a dangerous condition that has claimed the lives of numerous animals, including livestock.

Biota of Canyon de Chelly

Vegetation in the region ranges from desert grassland in Chinle Wash to mixed conifer forests at the higher elevations of the Defiance Plateau uplands. Along the canyons' waterways, Fremont cottonwood is the most abundant tree, many of which have been planted by the National Park Service to control erosion. The Park Service also introduced several non-native tree species for the same purpose: tamarisk, Russian olive and peach-leaf willow.

Pinyon-juniper woodlands cover large areas of the surrounding plateaus and have provided an important food source to the canyon's occupants since prehistoric times: the pinyon nut. Other common plants of the area that have been important resources for humans include the yucca for making sandals, baskets and cord, the Rocky Mountain bee plant for black pottery paint, and the western chokecherry for use in Navajo ceremony. Hopi peoples introduced the cultivated peach to the region in the 17th or 18th centuries.

The diverse plant communities of the de Chelly region provide habitats for a variety of animals. Large mammals include mule deer, black bear, coyote, mountain lion, porcupine and badger. Common rodents of the area are jack rabbit, cottontail, Abert's squirrel and pocket gopher. Many resident and migratory birds can be observed in and around the canyon, including golden eagle, turkey vulture, raven and great horned owl. In addition, five amphibian species and eleven reptiles make the canyon their home. Several species have been extirpated from the region since the arrival of Anglos, including grizzly bear, wild turkey, bighorn sheep, beaver, pronghorn antelope and wolf. Beaver and wild turkey have since been reintroduced. 

Follow these links to:
Page 2 - Prehistoric Human Occupation
Page 3 - Historic Human Occupation
References