May 18, 2007.
We are camped in the free
Cottonwood Campground at Canyon de Chelly National Monument, in northeastern
Arizona. There are no utilities other than a central dump station and a central
place to get water. Cottownwood Campground probably has around 100 sites but not
many for large motorhomes. There were probably 20 that we could fit our 35' motorhome
in. There might be 5 sites that would hold a 40' motorhome. It is a first come
first serve campground. You can't make reservations. The campground fills up in
the late afternoon up until around 8PM then emptys out the next morning. The place
has a lot of turnover. My advice would be to arrive in the early afternoon.
Yesterday
we took a tour deep into Canyon
de Chelly (pronounced d'SHAY) with a Navajo guide. Today we are doing
the rim overlooks on both the north rim and the south rim.
We visited the
overlooks on the north rim first.
View from the North Rim of Canyon
de Chelly National Monument
This
is an awesome view from the rim of Canyon de Chelly National Monument.
Scenic
view from rim of Canyon de Chelly
Most
of the rock you see in Canyon de Chelly is De Chelly Sandstone. It was formed
from desert sand dunes around 250-million years ago.
Sandstone
Walls viewed from rim of Canyon de Chelly
View
from the north rim of Canyon de Chelly.
Sandstone
cliff walls of Canyon de Chelly viewed from north rim
View
from north rim of Canyon de Chelly.
Shadows
on the canyon floor of Canyon de Chelly as viewed from the north rim
View
from north rim of Canyon de Chelly.
Close
up view of the sandstone walls of Canyon de Chelly's north rim
This
magnificent canyon was etched by water erosion and other natural forces out of
ancient, many-layered rock formations. Several of these rock layers are visible
throughout the canyon.
One is Shinarump Conglomerate, deposited
when this region was a humid, subtropical jungle. This is an interesting layer
of rock, composed of stream deposited sediments. It makes up most of the rim or
cap rock of Canyon de Chelly. From a distance it is a Grayish-brown in color.
This cap rock was deposited about 200-million years ago. It contains sandstone
pebbles made up of, quartz, basalt, chert, quartzite and petrified wood. The pebbles
are rounded like river rock, that is how scientist know this was deposited during
a wet period.
Shinarump Conglomerate cap rock Canyon de Chelly
It
is easy to see this Shinarump
Conglomerate cap rock on the far canyon wall. It is that dark brown layer
on top of the De Chelly Sandstone.
View from the north rim of Canyon de
Chelly.
Shinarump Conglomerate cap
rock of Canyon de Chelly viewed from north rim
Again
the dark Shinarump Conglomerate cap rock is easy to see in this view.
View
from north rim of Canyon de Chelly.
Iron ore
on north rim of Canyon de Chelly
This
cap rock has large amounts of iron ore in it. Ax heads were fashioned out of this
by some of the ancient inhabitants of Canyon de Chelly.
Caprock
on north rim of Canyon de Chelly
The
majority of the canyon walls are formed from windblown sand dunes that date to
about 280-million years ago. Notice that the grains of this rock are all the same
size.
De Chelly Sandstone & Anasazi
clif dwellings viewed from north rim
The
pale color sandstone is De Chelly Sandstone formed around 250 million years ago.
The
maroon-colored sandstone, silt stone, and mud stone is the Supai Formation was
formed around 280 million years ago. This layer of rock was deposited on low,
flat flood plains. It is only visible in a few areas in the canyon. Remember this
is the oldest rock in the canyon and will always be the layer under the De Chelly
Sandstone.
When bands of Navajo first arrived the Anasazi pueblos in Canyon
de Chelly were deserted ruins. By 1600, the Navajo had become seminomadic farmers.
A century later they were known for their sheep, blankets of finely woven wool,
and fields of corn. The Navajo got those sheep by raiding Spanish settlements
along the Rio Grande River in New Mexico.
By 1750, the Navajo was both
a farmer and herdsman. Yet he remained a warrior, fighting his Indian enemies
as well as the encroaching Spanish settlements. Raids and counter-raids dragged
on for more than 100-years.
De Chelly Sandstone as seen
from the rim of Canyon de Chelly
This
is another example of De Chelly Sandstone with only a thin layer of cap rock visible
on the far canyon wall.
Sedimentary
rocks on rim of Canyon de Chelly
I
spotted this unusual mudstone-sandstone combination while walking on the rim.
It seemed to be situated between the conglomerate cap rock and the sandstone that
makes up the vast majority of Canyon de Chelly. Someone has created steps down
to one of the overlook viewing areas by sawing steps into the sandstone. Note
how the multiple layers of this sedimentary rock has been forced up at a 30-degree
angle. I am wondering if this section of rock was formed when volcanos were spewing
a lot of ash. It appears to me that there is a layer of sand sediment then a layer
of ash followed by successive layers of sand and ash.
Exposed layers
of setimentary rock in the walls of Canyon de Chelly National Monument viewed
from the north rim
This
is what the above rock that has been sawed to expose layers looks like when not
sawed. The layers are still visible.
We were able to view these sedimentary
layers when we were on the north rim of Canyon de Chelly.
Rim
scenic drive Canyon de Chelly National Monument
This
is what the rim drive looks like when not at one of the overlooks.
Until next time remember
how good life is.
Mike & Joyce Hendrix
