Day 67 May 10



A cicada, these make a different noise than the ones we have.

"Twenty miles long, 400 feet deep and ¼-mile wide, it was carved by Walnut Creek over a period of 6 million years. Within its winding walls are natural riches – an abundant mix of plants and animals drawn there by water and varied topography. It seems a timeless place.

Walls of buff sandstone form the canyon’s inner gorge; the rock contours reveal their origins in the wind-scoured dunes of an ancient desert. The limestone ledges of the upper canyon contain delicate marine fossils, remnants of a later sea. Much later, the people of this canyon built their sturdy homes in shallow alcoves along these ledges. "
Quote from the National Park Web Site on Walnut Canyon.

The creek at the bottom of the canyon only runs part of the year.  So the Indians devised methods to store water for the dry periods.  They made large vessels and stored water in separate rooms next to their dwellings.  They used up all the resources in the area and moved on.  They merged with the Hopi and brought with them their crafts of pottery and weaving. 

Dwelling on the opposite wall of the canyon



The lower level of the canyon is made of fossilized
 sand dunes formed at the edge of a sea. Notice the
transition line to regular limestone.  The sea covered
what was once the shore and coral laid down the
upper layers. 

Well preserved room.

Notice the black on the walls from 100 years of cooking fires.

All the ciders you see in the pictures of the volcano look like this.

Sunset Crater is a young volcano that erupted around 1000 years ago.  It was a fissure eruption and resulted in a series of cinder cone volcanoes.  The Indians were around to witness it and even pushed corn into the molten lava as a form of offering maybe.  Rock with the impression of corn  has been found in the lava flow.  Scientist date the flow three ways.  One by the dwellings the ash covered,  two by tree ring Data, and three by magnetic data of the rocks. All of which points to the area being active for a relatively short time about 1000 years ago.  The ash from the eruption had a nice effect on the surrounding area by acting as a fertilizer.  The cinders acted as a mulch and allowed for the soil underneath to hold onto its moisture longer allowing the Indians crops to grow more effectively with less rain. 



Sunset Crater with one half covered with cinders.

Aa lava flow around 800 years ago

Side of sunset crater layered in cinders