She inherited the family’s sprawling homestead in the Chuska Mountains established in the late 1800s. Trees there were cut and transported more than 75 km (about 50 miles) to the east to construct pueblos in Chaco Culture National Historical Park in the San Juan Basin as early as 974 A.D. Canyons of Canyon de Chelly National Monument were cut by streams with headwaters in the Chuskas. The Beautiful Mountain anticline is on the Navajo Indian Reservation in western San Juan County, N. Navajoland boasts a number of world-renowned scenic wonders of the Southwest, e.g., Canyon de Chelly, Shiprock Peak, Monument Valley, Chuska Mountains, Window Rock, and so on. Amazing Fishing. The Navajo name for the mountain range is Níłtsą́ Dził, meaning Rainy Mountain, and in Navajo mythology, Chuska Peak is believed to be the head of a male figure called Y’odí Dził, or “Goods of Value Mountain. The Chuska Mountains lie not far to the west. “Lukachukai” is a Navajo word meaning “patches of white reeds ” and no doubt refers to the many lakes occurring on the main flat-topped ridge of the mountains. The San Juan Basin borders the Chuskas on the east, and typical elevations in nearby parts of that basin are near 1,800 m (5,900 ft). Rising along the border of New Mexico and Arizona within the Navajo Nation, the Chuskas were “the backbone of Diné … Trading posts at Crystal and at Two Grey Hills (about 10 km east of Toadlena), are associated with distinctive patterns used in Navajo rugs. "". View westward from upper Canyon de Chelly, (from White House Ruin), with Black Mesa on the horizon. Lucas, Spencer G., Semken, Steven C., Berglof, William R., and Dana S. Ulmer-Scholle (editors). The relationship between snowpack and surface waters is a pressing question for Navajo water managers, particularly if this relationship will help them better understand mountain runoff and water supply. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}36°28′N 109°06′W / 36.467°N 109.100°W / 36.467; -109.100. In February 1829 he lead the Navajo in battle against a Mexican expedition into the Chuska Mountains led by Captain Blas de Hinojos and defeated it utterly. Nathan B. English, Julio L. Betancourt, Jeffrey S. Dean, and Jay Quade, This page was last edited on 16 March 2020, at 16:43. Following the stock-reductions, herding in the Chuskas declined. A paved road, New Mexico Highway 134, crosses the range through Narbona Pass. Thanks for the views and don't forget to hit that like button. We gave offerings of corn pollen to Mother Earth for providing us with blessings. The eastern escarpment of the mountains is marked by slumps and landslides that extend out onto the western margin of the San Juan Basin. Weft count varies from 112 to 116. Nearby settlements are small, including Crystal, New Mexico, Lukachukai, Arizona, and Toadlena, New Mexico. The Navajo Brethren In Christ Mission is located 140 miles southeast of Farmington, NM, near the Four Corners. Laura Tohe of the Navajo Nation is among 23 recipients of the Academy of American Poets’ 2020 Poet Laureate Fellowship, a distinction that comes with a $50,000 grant for civic poetry programs. When I was younger, I used to travel with my grandfather to the Chuska Mountains to collect natural herbs. A distinctly shaped peak, it's flattish summit is readily visible from miles around, especially from points east in New Mexico. Tassel-eared (or Abert's) Squirrels get their name from the large furry tufts. The flat-lying Chuska Sandstone rests unconformably on Mesozoic rocks deformed in the Defiance monocline. Rising along the border of New Mexico and Arizona within the Navajo Nation, the Chuskas were “the backbone of Diné transhumance,” according to historian Dr. Marsha Weisiger, where many families “mapped a pattern that they would trace again and again for generations.” Pastoralism in these mountains, however, has faded dramatically over the last few generations. Situated in a higher altitude (7,293 feet) area straddling the Chuska Mountains, this area recieves the colder weather and gets the occasional snow drop. The site of the battle, Copper Pass (Béésh Łichííʼí Bigiizh), is now known as Narbona Pass. [3] Mex., near the Arizona-New Mexico State line; it lies along tbe western side of the Chuska Valley at the foot of the Chuska Mountains. Steven M. Cather, Lisa Peters, Nelia W. Dunbar, and William C. McIntosh. Warp, selvage cords and weft are all wool. The town’s population hovered just above 300 people, and outside of attending school, there wasn’t much to do. Our Navajo Nation prime Elk hunts are September through October. The Chuska Mountains are an elongate range on the southeast Colorado Plateau and within the Navajo Nation whose highest elevations approach 10,000 feet. Mule Deer season from September through January on the Navajo … Steven M. Cather, Sean D. Connell, Richard M. Chamberlin, William C. McIntosh, Glen E. Jones, Andre R. Potochnik, Spencer G. Lucas, and Peggy S. Johnson. September 28, 2020. The Chuska Challenge is the Navajo Nation’s premier mountain bike event of the year, taking place the final weekend of September in the Chuska Mountains. Some of the world’s finest weavers can be found in communities connected to these mountains. 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