Page 176 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

174  THE FOUR C ORNERS THE FOUR C ORNERS  175

Exploring Canyon de Chelly Hiking in the Canyon
Canyon de Chelly is a popular destination for
hikers, but only the White House Ruins Trail
Canyon de Chelly (“de shay”) is very different from the may be walked without a guide. The visitor
sparse desert landscape that spreads from its rim. center (see p173) offers Navajo-guided hikes
Weathered red rock walls, just 30-ft- (9-m-) high at the on trails of varying lengths.
canyon mouth, rise to more than 1,000-ft- (300-m-) high
within the canyon, creating a sheltered world. Navajo
hogans (see p173) dot the canyon floor; Navajo women
tend herds of sheep and weave rugs at outdoor looms, Key
and everywhere Ancestral Puebloan ruins add to the Highway
canyon’s appeal. Navajo-led 4WD tours along the scenic Hiking route
North and South rims are a popular way to view the site.
Antelope House Ruin
Named for a pictograph of an antelope To Tsaile
painted by Navajo artists in the 1830s, Window
the oldest ruins at Antelope House date Rock
from AD 700. They can be seen from the
Antelope House Overlook.
North Rim Drive J Massacre Cave Overlook

J Mummy
Cave
Overlook

Canyon Vegetation
Within the canyon, cottonwood and oak trees line the river Canyon del Muerto
washes; the land itself is a fertile oasis of meadows, alfalfa and
corn fields, and fruit orchards.
Standing
Standing
Cow Ruin
Cow Ruin
0 km 3
0 miles 3 Chinle Ledge
Ruin J J Black Rock Canyon
Overlook Antelope Spider Rock
Chinle Wash
House Rising more than 800 ft (245 m), Navajo
J J
Overlook legends say it was here that Spider
Woman lived and gave them the
J
White House Canyon de Chelly skill of weaving.
Overlook J
Sliding
Sliding Spider Rock
J House Overlook Kit Carson and the “Long Walk”
House
Overlook J In 1863, the US government sent Kit Carson (see p208) under the
Overlook
South Rim Drive
J
command of General James A. Carlton to settle the problem of
Navajo raids. To avoid outright slaughter Carson led his soldiers
through the region, destroying villages and livestock, as the Navajo
fled ahead of them. In January 1864 Carson entered
Canyon de Chelly, capturing the Navajo hiding there. In
1864, they were among 9,000 Navajo who were driven
on the “Long Walk,” a forced march of 370 miles (595
km) from Fort Defiance to Bosque Redondo in New
Mexico. There, in a pitiful reservation, more than
Canyon Tour 3,000 Navajo died before the US government
Half- and full-day tours from Sacred accepted the resettlement as a failure and
Canyon Lodge carry passengers in allowed them to return to the Four Corners.
open flatbed or large 6WD army Tsegi Overlook
trucks. Of varying length and This high curve along the South Rim offers good
difficulty, the tours are the best general views of the farm-studded canyon floor Fur trapper and soldier Kit Carson (1809–68)
way to see ruins up close. and surrounding landscape.
For keys to symbols see back flap For hotels and restaurants see p241 and pp256–7
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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Starsight template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 24th April 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm