White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly Nat'l Monument

Cliff dwelling of the Ancient Puebloans (aka Anasazi). Navajo Nation in northeast Arizona, USA. The Park Service has access along the tops of the mesas; the tra...
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Cliff dwelling of the Ancient Puebloans (aka Anasazi). Navajo Nation in northeast Arizona, USA. The Park Service has access along the tops of the mesas; the trail down into the Canyon to access White House Ruin is the only public into the canyon bottom. Otherwise, one needs a Navajo Guide.
The name "Canyon de Chelly" makes it sound like the first European to find it was a Frenchman; but actually, the name is just a phonetic approximation of a Navajo word.
The dark streaks on the red sandstone is called "desert varnish" - it is a deposit of minerals (mostly clay and manganese) carried by precipitation running down the cliff face.
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