Wupatki National Monument

We had one final destination planned for the day, which necessitated hastily covering the 220km from Petrified Forest back to Wupatki National Monument, north of Flagstaff. At the northern end of the same reserve that contains Sunset Crater, the Wupatki National Monument contains a number of ancient Native American ruins.

The most elaborate of these is a multistorey complex built by the Sinagua people (“Sinagua” means “without water”) containing around 100 rooms and built out of small thin slabs of the local red sandstone. It uses a pre-existing rock outcrop to help give structure to the layout, allowing it to have multiple levels.

I was surprised — well, as much as I could be, given how little I know about the original peoples of the Americas — to see that there was a ball court for games. I knew such things existed further south in Mexico and other more central American locales, but the fact is that Mexico is not that far away and there is other evidence of trade across the area.

One of the surprising natural features — which doesn’t look particularly natural in the photo below — is a blowhole, where wind is either expelled or drawn in — depending on the temperatures and air pressures in different places in the underlying cave system relative to the outside. When we were there it was blowing upwards (I’m not sure that you’re going to be convinced that it is air keeping the pages of the booket horizontal!).

We were there in the late afternoon (we only just made it before closing time), and this made the red sandstone glow (even if it also made the contrasts between light and shade a bit difficult). In the photo below you can see not only the sandstone typical of the area, but the black ash/scoria from the volcanic eruptions that preceded this settlement and made the land a little more fertile and able to retain water.

There is another ruin a short drive away, called Wutoki, built atop a small mesa/rock outcrop. The striking feature here is the tower-like structure which makes it resemble a small English keep. You’re allowed to walk inside this particular ruin, whereas at the main Wupatki ruin you can only walk around the outside.