Chaco Canyon - Fajada Butte
I was in one of the last parties allowed up Fajada Butte - it is now closed. Someone identified what may be an astronomical observatory near the top - there is...
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I was in one of the last parties allowed up Fajada Butte - it is now closed. Someone identified what may be an astronomical observatory near the top - there is a spiral petroglyph on a rock face; in front of it in a big chunk of sandstone with some partially separated layers. The morning sun shines through the gaps in the layers and hits the petroglyph, Apparently at equinoxes and solstices, the shafts of light hit particular sections of the spiral. Why build it up on the butte? It is above the level of the Canyon rim, so gets the sun earlier.
But when I saw it, I decided it was hooey - the sandstone chunk is so close to the rock face that it is almost impossible to get a photo of the spiral; there would be no way to get your hand in there to peck out the petroglyph. I think the petroglyph was there, then the sandstone happened to fall from above in front of it (lots of similar chunks were similarly located). The light shafts are just coincidences.
In this photo, in the background, you can see some dark shadows reaching down from the clouds. These are shafts of rain falling out of the cloud which evaporate before they hit the ground. Meteorologists call it "virga." It is a common design element in southwestern art, both ancient and modern.
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But when I saw it, I decided it was hooey - the sandstone chunk is so close to the rock face that it is almost impossible to get a photo of the spiral; there would be no way to get your hand in there to peck out the petroglyph. I think the petroglyph was there, then the sandstone happened to fall from above in front of it (lots of similar chunks were similarly located). The light shafts are just coincidences.
In this photo, in the background, you can see some dark shadows reaching down from the clouds. These are shafts of rain falling out of the cloud which evaporate before they hit the ground. Meteorologists call it "virga." It is a common design element in southwestern art, both ancient and modern.
Read less
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