Tag: landscape

Chevelon Canyon, at Rock Art Ranch in Navajo County, Arizona. Please click any photo in the set for enlarged views.

Chevelon Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, has eroded a steep-walled canyon through Coconino sandstone here. Beginning over 8,000 years ago human inhabitants of the region started visiting the canyon for its constant, year-round water supply, and leaving their marks on the canyon walls. I saw petroglyphs here in distinctive styles from the Archaic Period, and much later Ancestral Puebloan forms.

The creek banks support lush stands of willow, hardstem bulrush (a giant sedge, also called tule), and scouringrush horsetails (Equisetum hyemale, pictured at left center). Arizona walnuts (Juglans major, at right center) grow closer to the canyon walls. All of these plants would have been valuable to the ancient inhabitants the region, and to the Navajo who lived here until the 19th Century.

The bottom photo shows two large sandstone boulders, resting on the canyon floor. The boulder on the left bears deep indentations where the stone was used as a grinding or polishing surface for hand-sized cobbles. The overall effect of these gouges, coupled with the natural contours of the boulder, is a shape like a giant bear paw. Whether this resemblance is a result of deliberate artistry or merely coincidental isn’t known.  

Not shown is one of the canyon’s best features: the swimming hole. On the day of my visit the temperature in the canyon was about 90°F (32°C), but the clear, deep, bracing water in the swimming hole was only about 65°F (18°C). I had the place entirely to myself, and alternated between dipping and splashing and basking in the sun for almost an hour. 

Chevelon Canyon, at Rock Art Ranch in Navajo County, Arizona. Please click any photo in the set for enlarged views.

Chevelon Creek, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, has eroded a steep-walled canyon through Coconino sandstone here. Beginning over 8,000 years ago human inhabitants of the region started visiting the canyon for its constant, year-round water supply, and leaving their marks on the canyon walls. I saw petroglyphs here in distinctive styles from the Archaic Period, and much later Ancestral Puebloan forms.

The creek banks support lush stands of willow, hardstem bulrush (a giant sedge, also called tule), and scouringrush horsetails (Equisetum hyemale, pictured at left center). Arizona walnuts (Juglans major, at right center) grow closer to the canyon walls. All of these plants would have been valuable to the ancient inhabitants the region, and to the Navajo who lived here until the 19th Century.

The bottom photo shows two large sandstone boulders, resting on the canyon floor. The boulder on the left bears deep indentations where the stone was used as a grinding or polishing surface for hand-sized cobbles. The overall effect of these gouges, coupled with the natural contours of the boulder, is a shape like a giant bear paw. Whether this resemblance is a result of deliberate artistry or merely coincidental isn’t known.  

Not shown is one of the canyon’s best features: the swimming hole. On the day of my visit the temperature in the canyon was about 90°F (32°C), but the clear, deep, bracing water in the swimming hole was only about 65°F (18°C). I had the place entirely to myself, and alternated between dipping and splashing and basking in the sun for almost an hour.