95-WalnutCanyonNMOct2022
As part of our going to all of the nearby National Monuments and National Parks, the 3 sisters and I made our way up to the Flagstaff area, taking in Wupatki National Monument along with Sunset Crater and Walnut Canyon. At the end of this day's adventures, we stopped in Flagstaff for dinner at Huhot. We were able to get the sisters their book stamped as well as numerous photos by all of us to capture the memories. We had a picnic lunch at the Sunset Crater visitor center.
Info from: https://www.nps.gov/waca/index.htm
Remarkable Rocks and Ancient Cliff Dwellings
Come gaze across curved canyon walls. Among the remarkable geological formations of the canyon itself, the former homes of ancient inhabitants are easily evident. Along the trails, you can imagine life within Walnut Canyon, while visiting actual pueblos and walking in the steps of those who came before.
Traditionally Associated Tribes
The entire region that includes the Flagstaff Area National Monuments has been home to Native people since time immemorial.
The Flagstaff Area National Monuments (Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater Volcano, and Wupatki) are places of immeasurable importance to Native peoples in the Southwest. Wupatki shares boundaries with the Navajo Nation, and a total of thirteen federally recognized tribes are traditionally associated with the Monuments. Park staff have been working with tribal people for many years and are creating ever-better collaborative tribal partnerships.
Traditionally Associated Tribes
There are thirteen tribes connected to the lands and resources now found within the Flagstaff Area National Monuments:
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Arizona The Havasupai Tribe of the Havasupai Reservation, Arizona. The Hopi Tribe of Arizona. The Hualapai Tribe of the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona. The Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians of the Kaibab Indian Reservation, Arizona. The Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, & Utah. The Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation. The San Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation, Arizona. The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe of Arizona. The Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona. The White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona. The Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, Arizona. The Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe. The Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
Petroglyphs and Pictographs
Native American Pictographs and Petroglyphs of Walnut Canyon
Within the steep canyon walls of Walnut Canyon National Monument, images carved and painted by Native people tell the stories of their rich cultural history. These sites, far removed from modern park trails, are inaccessible to park visitors. In order to provide opportunities for visitors to digitally view and learn about these sites, the National Park Service has partnered with Northern Arizona University on a project to document 11 rock imagery sites within Walnut Canyon. For this project, archeologists have used high definition photography to document these sites. By clicking this link, you can view these images and learn about the known details about the rock imagery within the park.
In the pine forests near Flagstaff, Arizona, a steep canyon severs the rolling plateau. Twenty miles long, 400 feet deep and ¼-mile wide, it was carved by Walnut Creek over a period of 60 million years. Within its winding walls are natural riches – an abundant mix of plants and animals drawn there by water and varied topography. It seems a timeless place.
Walls of buff sandstone form the canyon’s inner gorge; the rock contours reveal their origins in the wind-scoured dunes of an ancient desert. The limestone ledges of the upper canyon contain delicate marine fossils, remnants of a later sea. Much later, the people of this canyon built their sturdy homes in shallow alcoves along these ledges.
For a brief time, from about 1100 to 1250, the canyon echoed with the rhythmic beat of a stone axe, the voice of an aged storyteller, children laughing on the rocky slopes. Masonry walls hint of this past, of a time when 100 or more people made their homes and livings here. These people well understood the gifts of the natural world. Deer, bighorn sheep, other wild game, and wild plants supplemented the corn, beans, and squash grown in fields on the canyon rim. Water flowed intermittently on the canyon floor, providing the lifeblood of the community. Shaded pools in the bottom held precious water between rains. In spring, silty snowmelt rumbled through the narrow passage.