Walnut Canyon

https://www.nps.gov/waca/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walnut_Canyon_National_Monument Walnut Canyon National Monument is a United States National Monument located about 10 mi southeast of downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, near Interstate 40. The canyon rim elevation is 6,690 ft; the canyon's floor is 350 ft lower. Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples have lived and traveled throughout Walnut Canyon’s dynamic landscape. Vibrant communities built their homes in the cliffs and farmed along the canyon’s rim. Today the park preserves this landscape, and the ancestral homes in and around the canyon. Walnut Canyon National Monument is located approximately 7.5 miles (12 km) east of Flagstaff. From Interstate 40, take Exit 204, and turn south. The Walnut Canyon Visitor Center is located at the end of this 3-mile (5 km) road. Walnut Canyon Visitor Center The Walnut Canyon Visitor Center includes a museum, film, WNPA park store, canyon viewpoint, and restroom facilities. The building features architecture from both the Civilian Conservation Corps and Mission 66 era. Park rangers are present, and Junior Ranger activities are available. Walnut Canyon National Monument is located approximately 7.5 miles (12 km) east of Flagstaff. From Interstate 40, take Exit 204, and turn south. The Walnut Canyon Visitor Center is located at the end of this 3-mile (5 km) road. Walnut Canyon, cliff dwellings, and the San Francisco Peaks Walnut Canyon's cliff dwellings are illuminated by the afternoon sun. The dynamic landscape of Walnut Canyon was home to a thriving Native American community roughly 900 years ago. Cliff Dwellings sunlight illuminates stone walls in a canyon cliff dwelling Walnut Canyon National Monument protects a series of ancient cliff dwellings built between 1125 and 1250 CE. Walnut Canyon Raven a common raven landing on a barren juniper branch At the rim of Walnut Canyon, visitors stand at eye level with soaring ravens, eagles, and other birds Walnut Canyon Snow warm sunlight illuminates a cliff dwelling wall beside a snowy trail The 0.9-mile (1.4 km) Island Trail leads visitors down 240 stairs to explore 25 cliff dwelling rooms. A Visitor at Walnut Canyon a visitor looks out over Walnut Canyon from the trail More than 125,000 people visit Walnut Canyon each year. Walnut Canyon Rim Overlook a circular overlook at the edge of the canyon rim The 0.7-mile (1.1 km) Rim Trail reveals expansive views of Walnut Canyon and its cliff dwellings. Inventory and Monitoring Data Help Flagstaff Area National Monuments Meet Resource Management Challenges From inventory data, to long-term monitoring data sets, to special projects, Southern Colorado Plateau Network data on vegetation communities, wildlife, and hydrology has informed much of the work being done in the network’s 19 parks. Cinder cone with crater, surrounded by pine trees. The Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau is centered on the four corners area of the Southwest, and includes much of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Hazy Fajada Butte, Chaco Culture National Monument Southern Colorado Plateau Exotic Plant Inventory Exotic plants take a heavy toll on biodiversity around the world. In the United States, exotic plant species invade tens of thousands of hectares every year, outcompeting native species and causing many to become threatened or endangered. Fire, flood, and other natural disturbance regimes can also be altered by exotic plants, broadly affecting land management. Common salsify, an exotic plant Wildland Fire in Douglas Fir: Western United States Douglas fir is widely distributed throughout the western United States, as well as southern British Columbia and northern Mexico. Douglas fir is able to survive without fire, its abundantly-produced seeds are lightweight and winged, allowing the wind to carry them to new locations where seedlings can be established. Close-up of Douglas fir bark and needles. Walnut Canyon NM Headquarters Area Historic District Cultural Landscape The Walnut Canyon Headquarters Area Historic District is part of Walnut Canyon National Monument, located southeast of Flagstaff in Coconino County, Arizona. The layering of features makes the Walnut Canyon Headquarters Area a significant example of projects completed during early conservation efforts in the United States—most notably the “New Deal” era of the 1930s‑1940s and the “Mission 66” era of the 1950s‑1960s. Walnut Canyon NM Headquarters Area Historic District (NPS) Wildland Fire in Ponderosa Pine: Western United States This forest community generally exists in areas with annual rainfall of 25 inches or less. Extensive pure stands of this forest type are found in the southwestern U.S., central Washington and Oregon, southern Idaho and the Black Hills of South Dakota. Recently burned ponderosa pine forest. Vegetation Characterization and Mapping on the Southern Colorado Plateau Vegetation mapping is a tool used by botanists, ecologists, and land managers to better understand the abundance, diversity, and distribution of different vegetation types across a landscape. Vegetation plots used for the classification and mapping of El Malpais NM Climate Change on the Southern Colorado Plateau The combination of high. elevation and a semi-arid climate makes the Colorado Plateau particularly vulnerable to climate change. Climate models predict that over the next 100 years, the Southwest will become warmer and even more arid, with more extreme droughts than the region has experienced in the recent past. One result of climate change may be more, larger floods, like this flash flood in Glen Canyon NRA Southern Colorado Plateau Mammal Inventories Mammal inventories help to close the gap in our knowledge and understanding of some taxonomic groups on the Colorado Plateau. Coyote (Canis latrans) Celebrating soils across the National Park System First in a series of three "In Focus" articles that share insights into the near-universal and far-reaching effects of soils on the ecology, management, and enjoyment of our national parks. Fossil soils at Cabrillo National Monument reveal marine deposits NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Walnut Canyon National Monument, Arizona Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports. cliff dwelling Series: Geologic Time Periods in the Paleozoic Era During the Paleozoic Era (541 to 252 million years ago), fish diversified and marine organisms were very abundant. In North America, the Paleozoic is characterized by multiple advances and retreats of shallow seas and repeated continental collisions that formed the Appalachian Mountains. Common Paleozoic fossils include trilobites and cephalopods such as squid, as well as insects and ferns. The greatest mass extinction in Earth's history ended this era. fossil corals in a rock matrix Series: Defining the Southwest The Southwest has a special place in the American imagination – one filled with canyon lands, cacti, roadrunners, perpetual desert heat, a glaring sun, and the unfolding of history in places like Tombstone and Santa Fe. In the American mind, the Southwest is a place without boundaries – a land with its own style and its own pace – a land that ultimately defies a single definition. Maize agriculture is one component of a general cultural definition of the Southwest. Permian Period—298.9 to 251.9 MYA The massive cliffs of El Capitan in Guadalupe Mountains National Park represent a Permian-age reef along the supercontinent Pangaea. The uppermost rocks of Grand Canyon National Park are also Permian. flat-top mountain Paleozoic Era During the Paleozoic Era (541 to 252 million years ago), fish diversified and marine organisms were very abundant. In North America, the Paleozoic is characterized by multiple advances and retreats of shallow seas and repeated continental collisions that formed the Appalachian Mountains. Common Paleozoic fossils include trilobites and cephalopods such as squid, as well as insects and ferns. The greatest mass extinction in Earth's history ended this era. fossil corals in a rock matrix Substitute Rangers As the 1940s dawned, the United States was still dealing with the economic woes of the Great Depression and trying not to get drawn in WWII. Even as it continued to manage New Deal Program work in national and state parks, the NPS remained understaffed as a government bureau. The emergency relief workers and about 15 percent of NPS staff enlisted or were drafted during the first couple of years of WWII. Winifred Tada, 1940. (Courtesy of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin) Find Your Park on Route 66 Route 66 and the National Park Service have always had an important historical connection. Route 66 was known as the great road west and after World War II families on vacation took to the road in great numbers to visit the many National Park Service sites in the Southwest and beyond. That connection remains very alive and present today. Take a trip down Route 66 and Find Your Park today! A paved road with fields in the distance. On the road is a white Oklahoma Route 66 emblem. Changing Patterns of Water Availability May Change Vegetation Composition in US National Parks Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios. Green, orange, and dead grey junipers in red soil, mountains in background Water Resources on the Colorado Plateau Describes the origin, uses, threats to, and conservation of water on the Colorado Plateau. Dark green body of water winding through red rock formations with brilliant sun overhead. Studying the Past and Predicting the Future Using Rat Nests In the western United States, packrat middens are one of the best tools for reconstructing recent environments and climates. These accumulations of plant fragments, small vertebrate remains, rodent droppings, and other fossils can be preserved for more than 50,000 years. Packrat middens have been found in at least 41 National Park Service units. Photo of a wood rat. Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 14, No. 2, Fall 2022 All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/newsletters.htm">Park Paleontology news</a> provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources. <ul><li>Contribute to Park Paleontology News by contacting the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/common/utilities/sendmail/sendemail.cfm?o=5D8CD5B898DDBB8387BA1DBBFD02A8AE4FBD489F4FF88B9049&r=/subjects/geoscientistsinparks/photo-galleries.htm">newsletter editor</a></li><li>Learn more about <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/">Fossils & Paleontology</a> </li><li>Celebrate <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/">National Fossil Day</a> with events across the nation</li></ul> Photo of a person sitting while using a laboratory microscope. Series: Geologic Time—Major Divisions and NPS Fossils The National Park System contains a magnificent record of geologic time because rocks from each period of the geologic time scale are preserved in park landscapes. The geologic time scale is divided into four large periods of time—the Cenozoic Era, Mesozoic Era, Paleozoic Era, and The Precambrian. photo of desert landscape with a petrified wood log on the surface Guide to the Henry G. Peabody Photograph Collection Finding aid for the Henry G. Peabody Collection 50 Nifty Finds #17: Common Threads Each National Park Service (NPS) employee has a unique story. We can't tell them all, but sometimes there's a personal account—like that of Sallie Pierce Brewer Van Valkenburg Harris—that speaks to common experiences. Although her NPS connections ran from 1933 to 1971, many of her joys, challenges, and frustrations can still be recognized in the NPS today. Sallie's story resonates regardless of era, gender, or position. How will it speak to you? Sallie Brewer in her NPS uniform standing at a gate Making an Impact: Long-Term Monitoring of Natural Resources at Intermountain Region National Parks, 2021 Across the Intermountain Region, Inventory & Monitoring Division ecologists are helping to track the effects of climate change, provide baseline information for resource management, evaluate new technologies, and inspire the next generation of park stewards. This article highlights accomplishments achieved during fiscal year 2021. A man looks through binoculars at sunrise. The Plateau Postcard: Spring-Summer 2023 The Plateau Postcard is the official newsletter of the Southern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network. In this issue, we say hello to many new faces within the network and head to the field with some of this year's spectacular monitoring crews. Pile of postcards with images of various southwest national parks on them. A Changing Bimodal Climate Zone Means Changing Vegetation in Western National Parks When the climate changes enough, the vegetation communities growing in any given place will also change. Under an expanded bimodal climate zone, some plant communities in western national parks are more likely to change than others. National Park Service ecologists and partners investigated the future conditions that may force some of this change. Having this information can help park managers decide whether to resist, direct, or accept the change. Dark storm clouds and rainbow over mountains and saguaros. Lesser Long-nosed Bat Research at Organ Pipe Cactus Lesser long-nosed bats have been in scientific focus since the late 1900's. These unique animals face different obstacles in their changing environment, but researchers are at work in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, learning more about these bats. Through research here and throughout Central America, scientists are understanding better how to protect these animals and their environment. A small black lesser long-nosed bat with a black face hovers above a waxy white saguaro flower. Toad Research in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Research at Organ Pipe Cactus has seen large monsoons, drought, and the Sonoran Desert’s impact on different species of toad. The aim of this research is to understand which species are present, as well as the geographical reach of the chytrid fungus. A large dark green-gray Sonoran Desert toad sits in a pool of water. Civilian Conservation Corps at Wupatki Learn about the importance of the CCC boys at Wupatki National Monument. A bare-chested CCC Member stands in front of the Wupatki Pueblo surrounded by desert scrub. National Park Service project to build up 'workhorse' native seed stocks for major restoration and revegetation efforts The National Park Service, with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will be able to build up stocks of the native workhorse plant species that can out compete invasive plant species so that native grasses and forbs can grow in previously disturbed areas.  a man kneels next to a bucket collecting seeds in a field Data Publication Brief - Aquatic Macroinvertebrates and Upland Vegetation/Soils The data packages for all our long-term monitoring efforts across the Southern Colorado Plateau are the foundations for almost everything we do here. We recently underwent our biggest effort yet in reformatting our data to fit the new standards put out by the Inventory & Monitoring Division. We are proud to announce that two of our largest datasets have now been published and are available for everyone to utilize. A split image, one side is a stonefly insect and the other side is a white flower. 50 Nifty Finds #42: Model Rangers The beige women’s wardrobe is one of the most misunderstood National Park Service (NPS) uniforms. It’s also the uniform that usually gets the most attention—despite being worn for only three years. Many incorrectly believe it dates to the 1960s and featured miniskirts and go-go boots. The fact that it is the one least like the standard green ranger uniform wasn’t an accident. Three beige and one orange dresses Desert Varnish Ever wondered what those dark lines were on the rock walls of canyon country? These black, brown, and red streaks are called desert varnish. streaks of black desert varnish on a red rock wall The Plateau Postcard: Winter 2024 The Plateau Postcard is the official newsletter of the Southern Colorado Plateau Inventory and Monitoring Network. In this issue, we learn about how we are trying to predict pinyon-juniper die-offs, as well as a new tool we developed to help make us all better field scientists, and we hear from Bob Parmenter about his remarkable career at Valles Caldera National Preserve. A pile of postcards. Updated Species Database Will Help Boost Amphibian Conservation Across the National Park System To steward amphibians effectively, managers need basic information about which species live in parks. But species lists need constant maintenance to remain accurate. Due to recent efforts, the National Park Service now has an up-to-date amphibian species checklist for almost 300 parks. This information can serve as the basis for innumerable conservation efforts across the nation. A toad sits on red sand, looking into the camera. Project Profile: Produce Seed for Intermountain Grasslands and Restore Intermountain Central Grasslands The National Park Service will restore grassland ecosystems in select national parks in Arizona and Colorado to advance landscape conservation actions, mitigate the overall loss of these systems, and build a strong core of healthy grasslands to benefit the species and communities who rely on them. The process includes collecting and increase native seed for restoration in central grasslands, supporting the National Seed Strategy. A tan grassland with trees in the forefront and two mountains in the background.



Sunset Crater Volcano Prairie sunflowers face the sun rising beyond Sunset Crater Volcano. They are among the many flowers that bloom during the summer rainy season in and around the park. Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Arizona This painting by Hopi artist Michael Kabotie Lomawywesa depicts some of his beliefs about the Sunset Crater Volcano eruption. Find it in the visitor center with other art and stories that share Indigenous beliefs about the eruption. © JIM KISER National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Clouds glow like fire at day’s end over the San Francisco Peaks. They erupted about 500,000 years ago—far earlier than Sunset Crater Volcano. Wildflowers thrive in soil carried by rain and melting snow from distant peaks. © TREEROSE PHOTOGRAPHY © THE KABOTIE FAMILY CHANGE AND BALANCE Welcome to the youngest volcano in the San Francisco Volcanic Field—Sunset Crater Volcano. About 1,000 years old, it erupted in a land where people have lived for over 10,000 years. The volcano changed the lives of the ancestral Puebloans and the lives of the animals and plants of this high-desert country. The ground began to shake around 1085 CE (common era). As the shaking grew stronger and more frequent, people knew they had one choice: Leave. Some people sought safety at Walnut Canyon and other nearby communities. They could see ash clouds but were safe from fiery rocks raining down and lava flowing across the land. People’s lives continued to change even after Sunset Crater Volcano quieted. These and other stories are told here and at Wupatki and Walnut Canyon national monuments. Tenacious Life Plants began to colonize this new landscape even as lava cooled. Penstemon developed into a new species that grows only here. Ponderosa pine seedlings appeared. Animals slowly came back. Some, like the pronghorn, you may recognize from other arid lands. Others, like the redtailed hawk and Steller’s jay, can live in many places. The Abert’s squirrel, however, needs particular forests. Steller’s jay © MARTIN DOLLENKAMP The Abert’s squirrel depends on ponderosa pines for food and shelter. It also eats a fungus that helps keep tree roots moist. The squirrel’s digging spreads fungi spores. And so fungi keep growing; the tree stays alive; and the squirrel has food and shelter. Sunset Crater penstemon © INATURALIST / TKEAY Red-tailed hawk Pronghorn PIXABAY © MICHAEL COHEN Desert globemallow © TOM KENT This tenacious trio can live through fires of this dry land— if they are low and slow. But the 2022 Tunnel Fire was faster and more intense than normal. What does the future hold for these three species? Ponderosa pine DETAIL—© W. MICHEL KITELEY; LANDSCAPE—USDA FOREST SERVICE / RAY FILLOON 6 million years ago San Francisco Volcanic Field becomes active near what is now Williams, Arizona. 10,000 years ago People are in this area, moving with the seasons to follow plants and animals. 2–3 million years ago Eruptions begin northwest of here. 500–700 Common Era People begin settling the land east of San Francisco Mountain. In Wupatki Basin, they trade food and goods with travelers. Others farm land near Walnut Canyon and to the north where Sunset Crater Volcano eventually forms. 600,000–400,000 years ago A towering volcano erupts many times. Its remains are San Francisco Mountain (also called the San Francisco Peaks). At Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, you can explore how life found a new balance after the eruption—and again over 900 years later. In April 2022 a sudden fire roared through here, fueled by drought and high winds that are hallmarks of global climate change. Whose lives were changed this time? What’s coming back? Look for bright green seedlings. Listen for birds tapping burnt bark. Walk trails through old lava where wildflowers still emerge each spring. Take the time to wonder: What will happen next in this land of constant change? Around 1085 Long-settled communities flee as Sunset Crater Volcano roars to life. For many months it spews cinders and ash. A few years later, lava flows from its north side to form what is known as the Bonito Lava Flow. Early 1200s People are farming and hunting near the volcano. Gray fox © PAULE HJERTAAS Abert’s squirrel Hypogeous fungus © MATT ANDERSON © AMADEJ TRNKOCZY 1300s People continue moving around these lands for different reasons. They might be seeking better farming areas. Or they might be following traditional knowledge to new lands. 2000s 2020 census confirms over 73,000 people live in nearby Flagstaff. Newcomers and visitors are looting Wupatki and Walnut Canyon and blazing trails up and inside Sunset Crater Volcano. 1400s–1700s Settlers from Europe and the newly established United States begin claiming Indigenous land as their own. People from several continents and many cultures compete for the scant water and food of this dry land. Mid- to Late 1200s A long drought gets much worse. Some people begin to migrate again as

National Park Service U. S. Department of the Interior Flagstaff Area National Monuments Walnut Canyon, Wupatki, and Sunset Crater Volcano Ancient Times Experience the Cultural Legacy and Natural Environment of Walnut Canyon, Wupatki, and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments View of the San Francisco Peaks from Wukoki Pueblo, Wupatki NPS Photo Follow the rock ledges and cliff dwellings down into Walnut Canyon, gaze across the grasslands and puebloan structures at Wupatki, and witness the aftermath of the eruption that formed Sunset Crater Volcano. Cultural Legacy People have found ways to live here for thousands of years, discovering new methods of building homes, growing food, and trading for goods. The eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano changed the lives of everyone who witnessed the event and influenced settlement at Walnut Canyon and Wupatki. Welcome! The scent of blooming cliffrose greets you during the climb out of Walnut Canyon on the Island Trail. Your eyes blink against the glittering contrast of snow blanketing Sunset Crater Volcano’s black basalt flows. At Wupatki, a raven’s cackling calls and wing beats break the silence surrounding red sandstone pueblos. Named after the walnut trees found within, Walnut Canyon is better known for the cliff dwellings built into ledges along the canyon walls. Builders selected spots warmed by the low winter sun, protected from snow and rain, and shaded on summer days. With water in Walnut Creek, land for farming on the canyon rim, native plants to collect, and animals to hunt, the ancestral Puebloan people had everything they needed. Welcome to Flagstaff Area National Monuments, places that will delight your senses and challenge your mind to consider everything from violent geologic processes to the struggle of finding water in an arid landscape. At Wupatki, builders chose the open grassland and expansive horizons of the Wupatki Basin, constructing homes of stone and mud. Communities were comprised of farmers, cultivating corn, beans, and squash. Wupatki Pueblo had the greatest population. Located at the crossroads of several cultures, it was a regional center for trade. Each of the monuments is unique, but all three share a cultural legacy, including their ownership by all Americans as part of the National Park System. Come and enjoy them. They are yours. This newspaper, the Ancient Times, can help you decide how to create your own experiences at the Flagstaff Area National Monuments during any season of the year. Sunset Crater Volcano is part of the legends, landscape, history, and culture of several American Indian tribes. Life profoundly changed for those present when the volcano erupted. Some left because survival seemed impossible. Others saw the eruption as a signal to migrate. Some chose to stay, building new homes and learning to farm a cinder-covered landscape. We’re waiting for you! Kayci Cook Collins Superintendent Flagstaff Area National Monuments NPS Graphic Natural Environment From sandstone and limestone revealing ancient sand dunes and seas, to rugged lava flows created by violent forces in the earth, the landscapes of all three national monuments have been shaped by weather, water, and time. At Walnut Canyon plant communities overlap, bringing together species usually separated by elevation, creating a rare concentration of biodiversity. The Sinagua people found a wide array of native plants to harvest along every curve of the canyon. Without domestic grazing, the grasslands of Wupatki once again provide habitat for the same plants and animals harvested and hunted by the ancestral Puebloan people who lived under the endless blue skies. Sunset Crater Volcano provides an unparalleled opportunity to study the dynamics of eruption, change, and recovery in an arid climate. The dramatic landscape is also home to a mix of species adapted to life on and around the young volcanic terrain. By visiting Walnut Canyon, Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano and gazing across their visually striking landscapes, you may better understand the lives of those who came before, learning from their ingenuity and achievements. What’s Inside 2-3....General Information 4-5....Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano 6.......Walnut Canyon 7.......Programs 8.......Getting Involved Published August 2016 2 GENERAL INFORMATION Walnut Canyon cliff dwellings, NPS Photo Contact Information Flagstaff Area National Monuments Park Headquarters 6400 N. Hwy 89 Flagstaff, AZ 86004 Phone: (928) 526-1157 Fax: (928) 526-4259 Email: FLAG_Information@nps.gov Walnut Canyon National Monument 3 Walnut Canyon Rd, Flagstaff, AZ 86004 www.nps.gov/waca (928) 526-3367 Wupatki National Monument 25137 N Wupatki Loop Rd, Flagstaff, AZ 86004 www.nps.gov/wupa (928) 679-2365 Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument 6082 Sunset Crater Rd, Flagstaff, AZ 86004 www.nps.gov/sucr (928) 526-0502 Entrance Fees 7-day Passes Walnut Canyon: per person (adults 16+)........$8 Sunset Crater Volcano and Wu