Canyon de Chelly is only 30' deep where it exits into Chinle. Elsewhere in the canyon the walls are 1,000' tall. We only had a three hour tour scheduled, though David took us out for almost an hour and a half longer. We really want to go back to see the Canyon de los Muertos and to get deeper into this canyon.
This photo is of two columns that look like a couple, the left one a man with his lips pursed.
The walls of Canyon de Chelly (and other mesas around the southwest) are covered with what is called desert varnish. In reality, this patina is caused by manganese-fixing bacteria that live on the walls and convert the water that comes over the edges during rain into manganese. Many petroglyphs are carved into the patina because they show up better.
At the end of the tour we came to White House ruin. At several of the ruins and along the wash people had set up places where they were selling jewelry. One guy even had a satellite connection to take credit cards. Canyon de Chelly also has numerous cliff dwellings (both in the walls and at the base of the cliffs). The wash can get 3' deep and fill the canyon during strong rain storms which bring down woody debris.
Canyon de Chelly is a magical place. There are few year round inhabitants because younger people want to be where they have electricity and TV. Families do, however, spend the summers in the canyon and the school year on the mesa. We discussed the problems with the lost generation which was sent to school and prohibited from studying their language and culture and who turned to drugs and alcohol. Though alcohol is prohibited from the Navajo reservation, it can be bought off the reservation and we saw plenty of empty cans and bottles and cardboard beer cases. Now the schools teach both languages and devote a lot of time to Navajo culture.
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