Canyon De ChellyCanyon De Chelly
Canyon De Chelly (pronounced D'Shay) is the most sacred of Navajo places because it is centrally located between the four sacred mountains of the Navajo in Chinle, Arizona. In fact, the word "de Chelly" is a corruption of the Navajo word "Tesyi" which means "in the rock". The word Chegui was found in Spanish diaries referring to the canyon and was probably spelled according to what was heard. As American settlers moved to the southwest they also adopted the Spanish name, Chegui. Once again, settlers mispronounced and misspelled Chegui, assuming it wa a Spanish word for Canyon, hence, Canyon De Chelly.
Covering an area of 83,340 acres or 130 square miles, Canyon De Chelly was carved from stream cutting and land uplifting.
People have lived in the canyon for over 5,000 years. The ancient ancestors of the Navajo and Hopi Indian tribes are the Anasazi (Navajo word meaning "ancient enemy"). No one knows what happened to these people, and the explanation of their sudden disappearance is widely speculated.
South Rim
North Rim