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Location/Geography: Arizona, Apache County, the closest town is Chinle. Area: 131 square miles. Off Hwy. 191 and Route 7 (at Chinle). Defiance Plateau region. Chinle Wash separates the north and south rims.
Spotlight: Considered the last stronghold of the Navajo when forced to leave their land in 1864, this three-pronged canyon represents a riparian (streamside) sector with desert terrain ideal for farming and raising sheep. With its swirly looking pink or orange sandstone, Canyon de Chelly's (pronounced "de-shay") chasm is hidden in the plane of its topography until viewed from either rim. Most famous landmark: the Spider Rock monolith jutting from the canyon floor. Most famous ruins: White House, a cliff dwelling inscribed into sandstone walls above the canyon floor.
White House ruins and Spider Rock (by Flickriver):
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Snapshot: Canyon de Chelly NM is a unit of the NPS, while the governing body is the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The monument and its lengthy setting preserve ruins of the early indigenous tribes that once lived there, mainly the Ancestors. The monument encompasses the floors and rims of three canyon annexes: de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument. The name (de) Chelly is Spanish in origin and comes from the Navajo word Tséyi’ meaning canyon(literally, inside the rock). The most distinctive feature of this setting, apart from its attractive geology, is the twin sandstone spire, Spider Rock. Its stunning column rises totem-like some 800 feet (240 m) from the canyon floor at the junction of Canyon de Chelly and Monument Canyon. According to Navajo legend, the taller of the two spires is also the home of Spider Woman. Canyon de Chelly remains in the ownership of the Navajo Nation, while matters pertaining to its natural features are administered by the Department of the Interior (under the auspices of the NPS). Visitors entering the canyon complex must be authorized by either a park ranger or a Navajo guide. However, the famed White House Ruin trail is accessible to visitors without a guide. The setting’s status as a national monument was made official in 1931.
