Historical Markers in Walnut Canyon National Monument, Arizona
Flagstaff is the county seat for Coconino County
Walnut Canyon National Monument is in Coconino County
Coconino County(236) ► ADJACENT TO COCONINO COUNTY Gila County(41) ► Mohave County(100) ► Navajo County(130) ► Yavapai County(150) ► Kane County, Utah(118) ► San Juan County, Utah(47) ►
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This was a community of relatives and neighbors. Its members worked together to haul water, hunt animals, and gather plants. They likely assisted each other with large fields on the rims. They shared walls and resources, joy and sorrow, success . . . — — Map (db m61366) HM
The Island Trail, visible below you, follows the sharp meander of Walnut Creek. Many cliff dwelling rooms, unique in this area, were built throughout the canyon at the level of this trail. On both rims are numerous pithouses and pueblos.
On . . . — — Map (db m61304) HM
Puebloan traditions reach far back in time and are the basis for the social organization portrayed here. What responsibilities might you have had in this community, given your age and gender?
[Captions:]
Hopi men plant and . . . — — Map (db m61350) HM
Perhaps people living here 800 years ago called this place Wupatupqa ("long canyon"), as it is known to some of their descendants, the Hopi. It was no doubt known as a place of abundance, given its wealth of plant and animal life and the . . . — — Map (db m61305) HM
When a volcanic eruption occurred near what is now Flagstaff, Arizona, people lost homes and lands they had cultivated for at least 400 years. A major life events for locals, the eruption was also visible to large population centers across the . . . — — Map (db m61325) HM
Overhanging ledges protected rooms from snow and rain, and shaded them during summer months. Thick walls of stone and mud insulated them from harsh winds and retained essential heat in winter.
Small doors were covered with animal skins, mats, . . . — — Map (db m61365) HM
As recently as the mid-1200s, families lived, worked, and played in Walnut Canyon. Tending crops on the rim, traveling to gather food, and collecting water from the canyon bottom were part of a daily routine.
It may be difficult to imagine . . . — — Map (db m61302) HM
Despite all it had to offer, in time Walnut Canyon became a difficult place for farmers to live. Drier, colder conditions meant crop failures. More people and diminished resources meant nutritional stress, disease, and conflict.
However, these . . . — — Map (db m61370) HM
Limestone forms the massive overhang above you and the ledge you are standing on. In between, softer layers of silty limestone have retreated, eroded away. All of the cliff dwelling rooms in Walnut Canyon — more than 300 — were built . . . — — Map (db m61342) HM
Walnut Canyon was once filled with the sounds of a busy community as families hunted, planted, and harvested with the seasons. Children were born, grew up, and raised children of their own. They were neither the first nor the last to use and . . . — — Map (db m61328) HM
Time has worn away details that once made these rooms complete. Still, bits of evidence tell us people devised ways to make their homes comfortable, durable, and suitable for changing circumstances.
Rooms were added as families grew or storage . . . — — Map (db m61341) HM
Most rooms in this community did not house people. Archeologists think many rooms, like the one to your left, were used to store tools, food, and water. Residents could have stored a 100-day water supply without much difficulty, given large . . . — — Map (db m61347) HM
With its steep and sheer walls, Walnut Canyon provided homebuilding advantages along with controlled access. Living here, people were situated to monitor their world. This was not uncommon; most villages of the time had some form of passive . . . — — Map (db m61326) HM
For each room tucked into this rock alcove, nature provided the back wall, floor, and leak-proof ceiling; no excavation was needed. Builders simply laid up unshaped blocks of limestone for side walls, enclosed the front, and opened their doorway . . . — — Map (db m61340) HM
During the spring thaw, snowmelt rumbled through the narrow passage below you. Water flowed again during the summer monsoon. Shaded pools held precious water after the flow ebbed. Walnut Creek was the lifeblood of the community.
Still, people . . . — — Map (db m61356) HM
"It is very dusty work to dig for relics....We dug for an hour or more, and found...cornstalks, corncobs in abundance, beans, gourds, nuts, reeds, arrows, bowstrings,...coarse cloth, a child's sandal, a measuring stick with notches at regular . . . — — Map (db m61368) HM
