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PHOTO: ©BUDDY MAYS/CORBIS
The spectacular upper portions of White House Ruin, which are shown here, are not open to the public. Between them, the upper and lower ruins once housed nearly one hundred Puebloan people.
fascinating evidence of thousands of years of human habitation. This evidence, ranging from images etched or painted on the canyon walls to the ruins of the settlements built by the Puebloan people, is truly amazing. Visitors are not allowed onto the floor of the canyon without a permit and an authorized Navajo guide. For those visitors who don’t wish to commit to a guided tour, driving around the canyon’s north rim and south rim and stopping at the over- looks along the way are good ways to appreciate what the spectacular area has to offer.
The south rim drive along Navajo Route 7 is about thirty-six miles roundtrip and takes about two hours, assuming one stops at all five of the overlooks along the way. On this drive, visitors will have an opportu- nity to see, among other things, White House Ruin and Spider Rock. White House Ruin is a major point of interest, and at the overlook situated above the ruin is the start of
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a one and one-quarter-mile hiking trail that is open to the public and takes visitors down to the canyon floor. This is the only place in Canyon de Chelly National Monument where visitors can descend to the canyon floor without permits or guides. Constructed during the Puebloan era (between about AD 1050 and AD 1300), White House Ruin is named for a wall covered in white plaster in one of the dwellings. It is a multistory settlement where nearly one hundred people once lived in the shelter of the overhanging rock.
About nine miles farther east on Navajo Route 7, visitors have an opportunity to take in the breathtak- ing sight of Spider Rock. Situated deep within Canyon de Chelly where it joins Monument Canyon, Spider Rock is an important part of Navajo tradition. A spire of sandstone with two pinnacles, it rises from the canyon floor eight hundred feet into the air. According to Navajo lore, Spider Rock is the home of a deity called Spider Woman, who is said to have taught the Navajo how to weave.
Spider Rock, which is named for Spider Woman, a Navajo deity believed to have taught the Navajo how to weave, soars eight hundred feet over the canyon floor.
The north rim drive is about thirty- two miles roundtrip and takes about two hours, including stops at all three of Canyon del Muerto’s overlooks. Driving northeast along the rim of Canyon del Muerto, along Navajo Route 64, visitors on a north rim drive will have the chance to gaze down upon a number of ruin sites and other ancient sites of interest, including Antelope House Ruin, Mummy Cave, and Massacre Cave.
Antelope House Ruin, which can be seen from Antelope House Overlook,
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