Navajo National Monument - Shonto AZ
N 36° 40.680 W 110° 32.462
12S E 541008 N 4059250
Navajo National Monument in Northern Arizona has dinosaurs, Puebloan Ruins, and PLENTY of amazing scenery.
Waymark Code: WMMAQ6
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 08/23/2014
Views: 8
Navajo National Monument is a hidden gem of Northwest AZ, with amazing cliff dwellings, evidence of dinosaurs, and cultural artifacts of many different tribes of Ancient Puebloan peoples.
Learn more at the US National Park Service website here: (
visit link)
"Where the highway ends, the Ancestral Puebloan Wild West Prehistory Begins...
The prehistoric Puebloan Ancestors built Tsegi Phase villages within the natural sandstone alcoves of our canyons. The resilient Ancestral Puebloans paved the way for current Native American groups in the Southwest region. These villages, which date from AD 1250 to 1300, thrill all who visit with original architectural elements such as roof beams, masonary walls, rock art, and hand and foot holds."
From Wikipedia: (
visit link)
Navajo National Monument is a National Monument located within the northwest portion of the Navajo Nation territory in northern Arizona, which was established to preserve three well preserved cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan People: Keet Seel (Kits'iil), Betatakin (Bitát'ahkin) and Inscription House (Ts'ah Bii' Kin). The monument is high on the Shonto plateau, overlooking the Tsegi Canyon system, west of Kayenta, Arizona. It features a visitor center with a museum, two short self-guided mesa top trails, two small campgrounds, and a picnic area. Rangers guide visitors on free tours of the Keet Seel and Betatakin cliff dwellings. The Inscription House site, further west, is currently closed to public access.
The Sandal Trail is an accessible self-guided walk that provides views of the spectacular canyonlands and rugged topography near the visitor center. Interpretive signs provide information on local flora and other topics. The 1.6 km round-trip trail ends at an overlook of the Betatakin ruins across the 560 feet (170 m) deep Betatakin Canyon. The National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966."