During our road trip in the USA four years ago, we had the chance to stop at Navajo National Monument Park, and it was an indescribable moment!
The weather was awful, and thunderstorms were around us! We had huge lightning coming right on the roof of the toilets where we were hiding from the rain. I think it is the first time I saw Jerome jumping so high (and trust me, he is tall!)
What is incredible about this place?
When you first walk there, you know that you will see some houses in the rocks, but you don’t see them at first. But once you located them, it is pretty impressive to realize that people were living here and that just one day, they just left without any explanation.
Where is Navajo National Monument located?
Navajo National Monument is located 9 miles off of HWY 160 at the end of AZ HWY 564.
Junction 564 is located 19 miles west of Kayenta, where visitors will take a right on to AZ HWY 564 if they are driving from Kayenta (visitors will take a left if going towards Kayenta, AZ).
Once on AZ HWY 564, visitors will drive 9 miles until they reach park boundaries and the visitor center.
Drive 9 Miles at the end of AZ Highway 564, off U.S. Highway 160.
What are the fees in the park?
There are no fees for this park, but donations are welcomed.
Who was living there?
Descendants of the Hopi people who built these places are called Hisatsinom. Zuni, also pueblo builders, know that several of their clans began in this area. Later, San Juan Southern Paiute, famous for their baskets, moved into this area and lived near the cliff dwellings. Today, this place is surrounded by the Navajo Nation, as it has been for hundreds of years.
Why was Navajo National Monument created?
Navajo National Monument represents a long cultural history. The monument was first created in 1909 to protect the remains of three large pueblos dating to the 13th century C.E.: Keet Seel, Betatakin, and Inscription House. In addition to the large pueblo villages, archaeological evidence documents human use of this region over the past several thousand years.
About the history of the place:
The earliest people to live in the Tsegi and Nitsin Canyon regions were hunters and gatherers, who relied on hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants for food. These early people were highly mobile and moved around a large region to pick food with the changing seasons. Unfortunately, their archaeological footprint is limited.
Around 2000 years ago, the inhabitants of the region began to grow maize, soon followed by other crops. They also started to live in more settled villages of semi-underground pithouses. The early communities are known as the Basketmakers.
The Ancestral Pueblo culture emerged as these early farmers began to depend on farming for most of their food. They built above-ground masonry houses, farmed the canyon streambeds, and interacted with far-reaching communities across the Colorado Plateau.
Betatakin, Keet Seel, and Inscription House were all built-in large, natural alcoves that formed in the towering Navajo Sandstone Formation due to the local geological conditions. As water moves through the porous Navajo Sandstone, it hits the less porous Kayenta Formation of shale and limestone and moves horizontally. This movement causes cracking, sheeting, and spalling of the rock, resulting in eroded alcoves and seeps and springs inside the canyons. The cavities offer shelter from the elements and natural spring water for villagers living here and farming the canyonlands.
The Ancestral Pueblo people farmed the streambeds in the canyon bottoms, enabling them to flourish in this high desert environment. They hunted wild game and grew corn, beans, and squash. The climate was similar to today, and these farmers relied on the canyon streams for water. Although they succeeded here for several hundred years, by 1300 CE, the villagers had all moved on. They may have left after a prolonged drought made farming here extremely difficult.
Today, the land surrounding Navajo National Monument is part of the Navajo Nation. The Navajo, or Diné, have lived in this region for several hundred years. Sheep and cattle ranching is an essential part of life for the Navajo, which is visible on the landscape today.
Why should you make a stop there?
Enjoy this place and try to understand how the ancestral people were living there. This place is mystic, and because you know that people lived here, you will be looking everywhere to see some traces of their civilizations.
