Park Archives: Walnut Canyon National Monument

Dwellings sheltered by overhanging cliffs were home to Walnut Canyon's only permanent inhabitants more than 800 years ago. Inside the canyon and throughout the pine forests on its rims, these people made their living by farming, hunting deer and small game, gathering an assortment of useful plants, and trading. The people are today known as Sinagua—Spanish for "without water"—a tribute to their ability to turn a relatively dry region into a homeland.

These people were not the first to encounter Walnut Canyon and its abundance of plants and animals. Artifacts show that Archaic peoples, who traveled throughout the Southwest thousands of years ago, probably occupied the canyon seasonally. These nomads were long gone by the time their Sinagua successors appeared in the rugged volcanic terrain northeast of present-day Flagstaff more than 1,400 years ago. Perhaps these newcomers migrated from elsewhere, or perhaps they broke away from a local group and developed a distinct way of life. Like earlier inhabitants, they were probably attracted by the region's abundant plants and animals. But they were also farmers.

They built one-room pithouses near their fields, where they employed dry-farming techniques to grow corn and other crops. Archeologists once thought that debris from the eruption of nearby Sunset Crater sometime between 1040 and 1100 made the land more fertile, attracting many more people to the San Francisco volcanic field and bringing change to Sinagua life. Recent findings discredit this theory. Among the more likely influences were increased rainfall, new water-conserving farming practices, trade, and a general population increase in the Southwest. This period after the eruption, when Sinagua culture flourished, is marked by a change in architecture from the pithouse style. The large, above-ground villages at Wupatki and Elden Pueblo and Walnut Canyon's cliff dwellings, built between 1125 and 1250, date from this period. The canyon builders took advantage of natural recesses in the limestone walls. Over millions of years, flowing water eroded the softer rock layers, creating shallow caves.

These were also the years of the Sinagua culture's greatest geographical extent. Settlements ranged from the eastern slopes of the San Francisco Peaks northeast to the Little Colorado River and south to the Verde River valley. Trade items found in Sinagua dwellings include turquoise from the Santa Fe area, seashell ornaments from the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California, and macaw feathers from Mexico. These goods may have been acquired by intermediaries who arranged trade between other groups of people.

The cliff dwellings were occupied for little more than 100 years. Why these people left is not clear. By 1250 they moved to new villages a few miles southeast along Anderson Mesa. It is generally believed that they were eventually assimilated into Hopi culture. The Hopi today call their ancestors the Hisatsinom ("people of long ago"). Their tradition suggests that these early migrations were part of a religious quest to have all clans come together.

Sinagua homes remained largely undisturbed until the 19th century. In the 1880s the railroad brought souvenir hunters to the ancient dwellings. Theft and destruction prompted local efforts to preserve the canyon and soon drew national support. In 1915 Walnut Canyon was declared a national monument. Hundreds of years have passed since Sinagua voices and laughter could be heard. Today, as you explore the trails, imagine the canyon alive with people carrying food and water, greeting one another, and building their cliffside homes.

600
Sinagua people arrive in San Francisco volcanic region northeast of Flagstaff.

1040
Sunset Crater is created in several volcanic eruptions; Sinagua life begins to change.

It is difficult for us to know exactly how the Sinagua people lived. They left no written history when they departed the Flagstaff region sometime before 1250. In the 1880s pothunters removed many Sinagua possessions, dynamiting some of the cliff-dwelling walls to allow in more light for their search. To reconstruct what life must have been like, archeologists and anthropologists rely on what survived the centuries: building remains, ceramic fragments, tools, ornaments, and agricultural areas. Study of the rimtop and canyon dwelling sites reveals much about settlement patterns.

The Sinagua story has been pieced together by examining objects, comparing them with the ways of prehistoric groups elsewhere in the Southwest, and learning the oral traditions of the Hopi, the probable descendants of the Sinagua. Though incomplete, this information tells

The canyon rims, relatively flat with pockets of deep soil, were the main farmlands. Even in the semi-arid climate, water was usually available even though Walnut Creek probably did not flow all year. To conserve rainwater and collect soil, the people built terraces and small, rock check dams. Their major crops were a drought-resistant variety of corn and several kinds of beans and squash. Recent evidence shows that edible wild plants were just as important to the Sinagua diet as cultivated crops. More than 20 species of plants that could have been used for food and medicine still grow in the canyon. Among these are wild grape, serviceberry, elderberry, yucca, and Arizona black walnut. On the rims, edible wild plants were fewer but no less sought-after. Sinagua people also hunted deer, bighorn sheep, and numerous smaller animals.

Walnut Canyon homes were generally situated on cliffsides facing south and east to take advantage of warmth and sunlight. A few sites faced north and west; these may have been occupied during the warmer months. Although the cliff dwellings are the most visible ruins in the park, other archeological sites such as pithouses and free-standing pueblos dot the canyon rims.

Archeologists believe that it was the women who built the homes. The dwellings were made from shallow caves eroded out of the limestone cliffs by water and wind. To form walls, builders gathered limestone rocks, shaped them roughly, then cemented them together with a gold-colored clay found in deposits elsewhere in the canyon. Wooden beams reinforced the doorways. Finally, the walls were plastered with clay inside and out.

Walnut Canyon has an unusual array of biological communities, each characterized by different temperatures and plantlife, and determined largely by the amount of sunlight received. These plantlife zones are miniature versions of the zones spanning the West from Mexico to Canada—all within the canyon's 20-mile length and 400-foot depth. As you walk the Island Trail you travel from the Upper Sonoran desert, with yucca and prickly pear cactus, to the cooler, moister Pacific Northwestern forests of shade-tolerant shrubs and mixed conifers, including Douglas fir. Elsewhere in the canyon and on the rims are pinyon/juniper woodland and ponderosa pine/Gambel oak forest, found throughout the southwestern United States. At the bottom is the riparian (riverbank) community, which includes boxelder and the Arizona black walnut for which the canyon was named.

Hours and Facilities There is an entrance fee. The park is open daily except December 25. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; hours may be extended in summer. Note: The Island Trail closes one hour earlier. This part of Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time year-round.

The visitor center has an information desk, exhibits, a bookstore, and a panoramic view of the canyon. Two paved foot trails begin at the visitor center. The Island Trail, a 0.9-mile loop, passes 25 of the cliff dwelling rooms and takes you through different plantlife zones. There are sheer drops and a 185-foot climb (240 steps) back to the canyon rim. The 0.7-mile Rim Trail overlooks the canyon and passes the ruins of rimtop structures. The park has a picnic area. Campgrounds, lodging, and restaurants can be found nearby.

For a Safe Visit Elevation at the canyon rim is nearly 7,000 feet; be careful when attempting strenuous activity such as climbing stairs. • Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration. • Picnics are permitted only in designated areas. Open fires are not allowed. • Stay on the trails when hiking; off-trail hiking is not allowed. • Pets are not permitted in the visitor center or on trails. • All plants, animals, and archeological objects within the park are protected by federal laws. There are substantial fines for damage or removal of these resources.

Location Walnut Canyon National Monument is 10 miles east of downtown Flagstaff. From I-40, take exit 204 and follow the entrance road.

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

cover only c1940		1941 (HTML)		1947
1951		1953		1958
1961		1965	1966	1968	1970
1974	1975	1976	1978	1984	1989
1992
1995-2002		2003-2020

Date Unknown	Information on Walnut Canyon National Monument Date Unknown		Where can I see rock art? Date Unknown
Walnut Canyon Rim Trail 1969	Walnut Canyon Rim Trail 1971
A Guide to the "Island" Trail Date Unknown		Island Trail at Walnut Canyon 1954		Island Trail 1959
Island Trail 1960		Island Trail 1965		Island Trail 1968
Island Trail c1970s		Island Trail 1971		Island Trail 1976
cover only Island Trail 1985		cover only Trail Guide Date Unknown
Trading Cards

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the handbooks and books which have been published for this park. NPSHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

Birds of Walnut Canyon
June 1954

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1988

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2006

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Walnut Canyon
2016