After hiking around at Sunset Crater Volcano, we continued driving through the monument to the Wukoki, Wupatki, Citadel, Nalakihu, Lomaki, and Box Canyon Pueblos.
These pueblos all have a distinctive deep red color and made from thin, flat blocks of the local Moenkopi sandstone. We stopped and walked out to and around the Wukoki Pueblo first. The Wukoki was striking in that it’s built on top of a sandstone outcropping and has a fortress like 3 story tower. Archaeologists think two to three families lived here.
Farming here was tough. There is no constant water source, just whatever rain can be collected. Following the Sunset Crater eruption, farming became less of a challenge because they discovered that the few inches of cinder and ash blanketing the northeastern lands helped keep the soil moist. As a result, a new agricultural community spread in the northeastern part of the region where the people built larger multi-level pueblos–instead of smaller scattered pithouses as had been their tradition before the volcanic eruption.
Next up we walked around the Wupatki Pueblo. Wupatki, which means “Long Cut House” in the Hopi language, is a multistory pueblo dwelling comprising over 100 rooms and a community room and the northernmost ballcourt ever discovered in North America, creating the largest building site for nearly 50 miles. There are over 100 rooms and 85-100 people used to live here. This was a thriving community until the mid-1200s when a combination of drought and the cultural importance of migration caused people to move into other areas.
Continuing on down the road we walked around four more pueblos. The Citadel was different in that it was built atop a small cinder hill and can be seen from far around. We hiked up to the top where you can see evidence of rooms, but it has all crumbled or been looted.
On our hike at the Box Canyon dwellings we spotted a collared lizard. He was very photogenic and then when we were done taking his picture, he ran off into the bushes. The collared lizard can run on its hind legs, and is a relatively fast sprinter. Record speeds have been around 16 miles per hour!
The people who lived and died here remain as spiritual guardians and as we drove away we knew these special places weren’t abandoned, but instead, cared for and remembered.
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