Monument Valley towers in lore

Monument Valley is not a valley at all, but rather a wide flat, landscape interrupted by colorful red buttes and spires rising hundreds of feet into the air. These are the last remnants of the sedimentary rock layers that once covered the entire region. Monument Valley is contained entirely within the Navajo reservation, occupying both Utah and Arizona. This is is one of the most remarkable, beautiful and famous landscapes in the world, early recognized by Hollywood as a stunning background for western films.

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Ice Age Paleo-Indian hunters occupied the Monument Valley area between 12,000 and 6,000 BC. Archaic hunter-gatherers left evidence between 6,000 BC and the Christian Era. Anasazi farmers arrived about the beginning of the Christian Era and suddenly disappeared around 1300. Because of their unique pottery styles, they are called the Kayenta Anasazi. As early as the 1300s, San Juan Band Paiutes frequented the area as temporary hunters and gatherers. They named it "Valley or Treeless Area Amid the Rocks" and ascribed supernatural powers to the area. For example, Totem Pole Rock is said to be a god held up by lightning, El Capitan a sky-supporter, and all of Monument Valley near Goulding's Trading Post a hogan that faces east.

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In 1884, President Chester Arthur added this region by executive order to the Navajo Reservation, but prospectors continued to search for silver. John Wetherill and Clyde Colville established a trading post at Oljeto in 1906 until Wetherill moved to Kayenta. In 1924, Harry and his wife Mike Goulding established a post which is still in operation today and bears his name.

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Monument Valley became world famous when it was featured in many western film classics, including John Ford's Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Cheyenne Autumn. The Navajo Nation established the tribal park that includes some of the most dramatic buttes, mesas and monoliths, making the area accessible to thousands of tourists who visit the region each year and providing a major source of income to the Navajo people.

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Monument Valley Tribal Park is 29,817 acres and sits at an elevation of 5,564 feet above sea level. via