Canyon de Chelly
| Canyon de Chelly National Monument | |
|---|---|
|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
|
|
Canyon de Chelly, 1904, by Edward S. Curtis
|
|
 |
|
| Location | Apache County, Arizona, USA |
| Nearest city | Chinle |
| Coordinates | 36°09′19″N 109°30′32″W / 36.1552818°N 109.5089952°WCoordinates: 36°09′19″N 109°30′32″W / 36.1552818°N 109.5089952°W |
| Area | 83,840 acres (339.3 km2) |
| Created | April 1, 1931 |
| Visitors | 828,478 (in 2013) |
| Governing body | Bureau of Indian Affairs |
| Website | Canyon de Chelly National Monument |
| NRHP Reference # | 70000066 |
| Added to NRHP | August 25, 1970 |
Canyon de Chelly National Monument (/dəˈʃeɪ/ də-SHAY) was established on April 1, 1931 as a unit of the National Park Service. It is located in northeastern Arizona within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Reflecting one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America, it preserves ruins of the early indigenous tribes that lived in the area, including the Ancient Pueblo Peoples (also called Anasazi) and Navajo. The monument covers 83,840 acres (131.0 sq mi; 339.3 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. In 2009 Canyon de Chelly National Monument was recognized as one of the most-visited national monuments in the United States.
The name chelly (or Chelley) is a Spanish borrowing of the Navajo word Tséyiʼ, which means "canyon" (literally "inside the rock" < tsé "rock" + -yiʼ "inside of, within"). The Navajo pronunciation is [tséɣiʔ]. The Spanish pronunciation of de Chelly [deˈtʃeʎi] was adapted into English, apparently through modelling after a French-like spelling pronunciation, and now /dəˈʃeɪ/ də-SHAY.
...
Wikipedia