El Malpais Sandstone Bluffs

The Sandstones Bluffs Overlook is 10 miles south of I-40 along New Mexico Route 117 on the east side of El Malpais National Monument in northwest New Mexico. The overlook emphasizes the geologic history of the area. Although no trails are shown on park maps, there is room for hiking here.

The view to the west is toward the Chain of Craters, a line of volcanoes that are 110,000 to 200,000 years old. Below the overlook, the waves of McCarty’s black lava flow, only 2000 to 3000 years old, weave through a Pinon and Juniper forest. From the overlook area, it is easy to walk north along the bluffs following an unmaintained trail.

The views to the northwest are the Zuni Mountains. The sandstone cliffs were formed by deposits in shallow seas from 63 to 138 million years ago. The brochure for the area mentions that there are small sandstone arches and archaeology sites in the area. I walked slowly and scanned the area below for ruins sites, but didn’t spot anything. It looked like there is a trail along the base of the cliffs, but there isn’t a marked way or any apparent easy way down.
 

About 0.5 miles north along the way, there is a side trail to the Garret Homestead site, built between 1935 and 1937. The interpretive sign at the overlook mentions a second homestead site called the Alben Homestead that I didn’t see along where I hiked. Preserving these sites is part of the Park Service Vanishing Treasures program.

There are views in this area toward Mt. Taylor, described as a composite volcano active 3.5 million years ago. Mt. Taylor is one of the four sacred peaks of the Navajo. The mesa top terrain here is Pinon Pines and Junipers without many shrubs except for the tall cactus that I think is called Cholla.

In some of the rocky areas below there are some Ponderosa Pines. I hiked along the rim for about 1 mile and returned using 1:30 hours. My hike was on a 60 F degree late March afternoon.

On a visit on June 18 at about 5:00 PM, I sighted a small group of elk in this area.

La Ventana Arch

La Ventana Arch is New Mexico’s second largest natural arch with a span of 135 feet. The short 0.5 mile round trip trail is 18 miles south of I-40 on New Mexico route 117 on the east side of El Malpais National Monument in northwest New Mexico.

At the trailhead there is an interpretive sign that shows a map of the area that includes the El Malpais National Monument and the adjacent Conservation Area and the Cebolla Wilderness.

The afternoon light strikes the arch formation directly. There is a note at the trail head to wear sturdy shoes for the steep and rocky segment of the trail, but that segment directly below the arch is closed.

A short distance down the trail is another interpretive sign that discusses the formation of the Zuni sandstone layer and the processes that formed La Ventana Arch. The arch is on the north side of an inlet in the sandstone cliffs. The floor area in front of the arch has Pinon Pines and Juniper trees with open areas of grasses and shrubs. For energetic hikers, the 4 mile Narrows Rim Trail ends on the cliffs across from La Ventana Arch.

The viewing area below La Ventana is fenced and the area beyond is closed, so no blue sky angle is available.

This short hike only takes about 0:20 minutes. There are several other hiking opportunities in this part of the El Malpais area.

White House Ruins Rock Art

The White House Ruins Trail is a 2.5 or 3 mile round trip with 600 feet of elevation change at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeast Arizona. There are several examples of pictograph rock art to find while viewing the ruins.

The most obvious images are on the sandstone surface between the upper and lower structures. There is a protective fence that prevents close inspection, so binoculars are helpful to see these details. There is also a group of images at about the same level to the left of the structures.

The human image is the most obvious. This type of image is found at other sites in the Four Corners region, sometimes as a pictograph and sometimes as a petroglyph. There is a very similar pictograph image near Sipapu Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument in the Cedar Mesa area of Utah and a similar petroglyph along the Penasco Blanco Trail at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. There is a line of white spots to the left of the human figure that might be easily overlooked.
 

The panel to the left of the structures has at least four images. I noticed on this visit that there are historic inscriptions on the white plaster of the central room of the upper structures. These aren’t very noticeable from casual viewing but show up clearly with binoculars.

The oldest that I could see was J.W. Conway, Santa Fe, September 24, 1873. There are at least two others, one by J.W. Ellison in 1884 and another by Harold Bonnstetter 2/7/1923. I tried a computer search for JW Conway but couldn’t discover who he was or why he was here in 1873. This reminds me of the Inscription Rock at El Moro National Monument south of Gallup, New Mexico where several hundred years of travelers inscriptions, including many in Spanish, are on display.
 

To the right of the White House Ruins there is a small alcove. I looked into the alcove with binoculars and thought that I could see two flute player pictographs on the back wall. My attempts at getting a picture didn’t show anything so I’m not sure. This alcove is also protected with a fence, so the views are from at least 100 feet away. 

My hike took 1:45 hours on a 36 F degree mid February day. I saw 5 other hikers and 3 Navajo vendors during my hike, and 4 horses grazing near the ruins.

Canyon de Chelly Junction Overlook

 The Junction Overlook at Canyon de Chelly in northeast Arizona is the third overlook along the south rim drive. The view is toward the junction of the Canyon Del Muerto arm to the north and the Canyon de Chelly arm to the south.

The interpretive signs at the view point emphasize the geology of the canyon. The Shinarump Conglomerate on the surface was deposited 170 million years ago and the de Chelly sandstone that forms the sheer walls has been here for 230 million years. The floor layer is named the Supai Formation from 280 million years ago.

There are two Ancestral Pueblo Ruins sites visible from the Junction Overlook. To the left is First Ruins. It appears to be a fairly large site sitting well above the canyon floor.
 

To the right is the Junction Ruins also in an alcove above the canyon floor. The views of these two sites are from a long distance and binoculars are needed to see much. These two sites are more than 700 years old and were abandoned around 1300 AD for reasons that aren’t clear.
                                            

Round Rock, Rock Point and Lukachukai-Flat Rock Scenic Drive

Round Rock and Little Round Rock are eye catching formations in the Chinle Valley region of the Navajo Nation in northeast Arizona. This pair of buttes sits between the Lukachukai Mountains to the east and the ground rising toward Black Mesa in the west.

One of the many scenic drives in Navajo country is the combination of Highway 191 south from Mexican Water, AZ to the Round Rock Chapter, then continuing south on Navajo Route 12 to Tsailie. The Highway 191 segment and then continuing on to Many Farms is called the Flat Rock Mesa Scenic By-way.

Both routes are scenic and lead toward the spectacular Canyon de Chelly. I think the base of Round Rock is the soft Chinle Layer supporting steep sandstone cliffs, probably the Wingate layer. From the right angles, it appears that Round Rock has an arch on the western side.

North of Round Rock, the Rock Point Chapter area features sandstone outcrops, mesas, and monument formations similar to Monument Valley. One of the most obvious is Whale Rock resembling a surfacing whale. Some of the small pinnacles may have cultural significance as part of the traditional Navajo religion.

South of Round Rock, the next community is Lukachukai, sitting along the base of the Lukachukai Mountains. At Lukachukai, Navajo Route 13 is another scenic drive crossing the mountains at Buffalo Pass and descending on the east side into Cove and on to Shiprock, New Mexico.

At the junction of Navajo 12 and Navajo 64 there are views of the square topped Roof Butte. Route 64 leads to three north rim overlooks of Canyon de Chelly and is part of the Among the People Scenic Road that continues south to Fort Defiance and Window Rock, AZ.