Canyon de Chelly
Canyon de Chelly is located in northeastern Arizona and has the status of a national monument. It is located within the reservation of the Navajo. Here are preserved many ruins of Anasazi Indians, also known as Pueblo and Navajo, which were later settled in these lands.
Access of tourists in Canyon de Chelly is limited and visitors are allowed to attend only if accompanied by a guide who has a practice of the Navajo tribe. The only exception to this rule for tourists is the tourist route known as the White House Ruin Trail.
The monument Canyon de Chelly extends to over three hundred square kilometers and includes the canyons del Muerto and Monument. All these canyons were carved by flows within the Chuska mountains. The name of the Canyon de Chelly comes from the Spanish borrowing of words from the language of the Navajo, which can be translated as "the rock".
Many tourists enjoy the view from the canyon rim. There, you can see the ancient ruins and geological structures. There is no fee to enter the canyon, although many guides require money from visitors.
To create the incredibly beautiful canyon walls of Canyon de Chelly, it took millions of years and a huge amount of water. For thousands of years, the canyon is inhabited by a variety of animal and plant species that have benefited from the heavy water resource in this place.
Ancient Pueblo Indians thought that Canyons are the perfect place where they can plant and raise their children. The first settlers who inhabited this place, built dugouts, which were covered to protect them from rain, but then built a solid home to safely raise their young. Moreover, many people arrived in this place, attracted by the water and the ability to find fertile land and a quiet place where they can raise their children.
Many homes were constructed with large windows so people can take advantage of sunlight. By the mid-fourteenth century Pueblo Indians lived in this place, and then left to seek better land where they can grow crops and livestock.
Within the monument Canyon de Chelly live forty families of the Navajo Nation.
