Utah Travel Center
  • Home
  • Travel Center
    • Activities
      • ATV Riding
      • Biking
      • Cross-Country Skiing
      • Fishing
      • Golf
      • Hiking
      • Horseback
      • Hunting
      • Jeep Tours
      • Snowboarding
      • Snowmobiling
      • Sports
      • Rock Climbing
      • Watersports
      • Winter Activities
    • Destinations
      • National Parks
      • BLM Lands
      • Counties
      • National Forests
      • National Historic Site
      • National Monuments
      • National Recreation Areas
      • Points of Interest
      • Scenic Byways
      • State Parks
    • State Info
      • Transportation
      • Travel Regions
      • Wildlife
    • Travel Info
      • Entertainment
      • Lodging
      • Trip Planning
      • Weather
    • Cities
      • Cedar City
      • Green River
      • Kanab
      • Logan
      • Moab
      • Ogden
      • Orem
      • Panguitch
      • Park City
      • Price
      • Provo
      • Salt Lake City
      • Sandy
      • Springdale
      • St. George
  • History
  • Search
  • Menu

Monument Valley

Monument Valley (San Juan County) is south of the San Juan River and south and west of Mexican Hat. The valley extends into Arizona as a desert wilderness region of pinnacles, spires, geologic “mittens” and buttes. Monument Valley has been the setting for hundreds of commercials, dozens of movies, and print ads selling everything from herbal shampoo to designer fashions. The Navajo People continue to live among the red rock buttes and eroded pillars for which the valley is famous. Monument Valley is also sacred to the Navajo Nation or Diné as they refer to themselves. Any exploration of the valley beyond the scenic drive must be accompanied by a Navajo Guide. Guided custom and regularly scheduled excursions through the valley are available. From Bluff, Utah, Hwy 163 is a scenic journey to the Tribal Park Headquarters, where Navajo guided tours may be arranged.

HIstory

Located on the border of southeastern Utah and northern Arizona, Monument Valley contains some of the most dramatic rock formations on the Colorado Plateau. These large blocks of sandstone were compacted during the Paleozoic era, while the effects of differential erosion through exfoliation, wind, and water started during the Cenozoic era. The reddish hues in the sand and rock of this twenty-five-mile valley come from iron oxide, while the black streaks, or desert varnish, that course down the cliffs are manganese oxide. In addition to sandstone formations, there are also remains of volcanic activity, El Capitan being the most famous.

The valley’s earliest inhabitants include the Ice Age Paleo-Indian hunters (12,000-6,000 B.C.), Archaic hunter-gatherers (6,000 B.C.-A.D. 1), and Anasazi farmers (A.D. 1-1300). The latter group’s pottery styles reflect a regional variation known as Kayenta Anasazi. As early as the 1300s, San Juan Band Paiutes frequented the area as temporary hunters and gatherers. They named it “Valley or Treeless Area Amid the Rocks” and vested the landscape with supernatural qualities and mythological stories. For example, Totem Pole Rock is said to be a god held up by lightning, El Capitan a sky-supporter, and all of Monument Valley near Goulding’s Trading Post a hogan that faces east.

Spanish and Mexican incursion into the area was either exploratory or punitive (in their attempts to control Navajo raiders). In the early 1860s Kit Carson followed suit by sending Utes into the region to capture Navajos, who fled to peripheral areas such as Navajo Mountain. The majority of the Navajos returned from captivity in 1868 and soon confronted miners seeking silver. Ernest Mitchell and James Merrick, two of the most notable, were killed by Utes or Paiutes near monoliths that still bear the miners’ names.

In 1884 President Chester Arthur added this region by executive order to the Navajo Reservation, but white men’s interest in the area did not wane. Prospectors continued to search for silver, and in 1906 John Wetherill and Clyde Colville established a trading post at Oljeto that remained in operation for four years until Wetherill moved to Kayenta. In 1924 Harry Goulding established a post which is still in operation today, although under different management. During the 1950s Goulding encouraged the employment of Navajos in the uranium industry as well as in holding parts in the movie industry. Monument Valley became known throughout the world when it was featured in such western film classics as John Ford’s Stagecoach, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and Cheyenne Autumn. Outside influences brought further development in the form of a Seventh-day Adventist mission and hospital, and an Episcopalian mission–both in the Oljeto area. The Navajo tribe has also established a tribal park that includes some of the most dramatic monoliths, making the area accessible to thousands of tourists who visit the region each year.

Robert S. McPherson

Photo Gallery

© Copyright - Utah Travel Center
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings

How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, you cannot refuse them without impacting how our site functions. You can block or delete them by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds: