Canyon de Chelly National Monument

"Spider Rock" redirects here. Not to be confused with rock spider.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Canyon de Chelly, 1904, by Edward S. Curtis
Map showing the location of Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Map showing the location of Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Location in the United States
Map showing the location of Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Map showing the location of Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Location in Arizona
LocationApache County, Arizona
Nearest cityChinle
Coordinates36°09′19″N 109°30′32″W / 36.155281°N 109.508995°W / 36.155281; -109.508995[1]
Area83,840 acres (339.3 km2)[2]
CreatedApril 1, 1931 (1931-April-01)
Visitors439,306 (in 2018)[3]
Governing bodyBureau of Indian Affairs
WebsiteCanyon de Chelly National Monument
NRHP reference No.70000066
Added to NRHPAugust 25, 1970[4]

Canyon de Chelly National Monument (/dəˈʃeɪ/ də-SHAY) was established on April 1, 1931, as a unit of the National Park Service. Located in northeastern Arizona, it is within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation and lies in the Four Corners region. Reflecting one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America, it preserves ruins of the indigenous tribes that lived in the area, from the Ancestral Puebloans (also known as the Anasazi) to the Navajo. The monument covers 83,840 acres (131 sq mi; 339 km2) and encompasses the floors and rims of the three major canyons: de Chelly, del Muerto, and Monument. These canyons were cut by streams with headwaters in the Chuska Mountains just to the east of the monument. None of the land is federally owned.[5] Canyon de Chelly is one of the most visited national monuments in the United States.[6]

  1. ^ "Canyon de Chelly National Monument". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  2. ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2013" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved March 28, 2014. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
  3. ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  4. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. ^ "The National Parks: Index 2009–2011". National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  6. ^ "America's 20 most-visited National Monuments". Los Angeles Times.