Saturday, March 17, 2012

Saturday Snapshot: Navajo Tapestry Walls

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce @ At Home With Books.
Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.
 
Denis and I were first introduced to Navajo tapestry walls when we took a boat tour of Lake Powell. "Navajo tapestry wall," a term used to describe the multi-colored streaks in high canyon walls on the land of the Navajo Nation, are caused by metals and mineral deposits in the rock which have been exposed to air, light, and water. They can be very beautiful, and with a little imagination, it's easy to see pictures in them. I thought I'd share a few photos I took at Lake Powell and Canyon de Chelly. You can click any photo to see it in a larger size in a new window.


Tapestry wall in Navajo Canyon, Lake Powell

Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly, the only place I've seen this blue.

52 comments:

  1. Ohhh, I'd love to visit here one day - it's stunning and unique :-)

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    1. I think it's one of the most beautiful places on earth. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Wow, those are gorgeous! Reminded me of Margaret Coel's book, The Drowning Man. It's about Indian art being chiseled out of the rock and sold illegally. Interesting mystery. If you haven't read it, I think you would really like it.

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    1. Margaret Coel is an author who's definitely on my radar, and you've just pushed her much higher up on my Find List. Thanks, Kaye!

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  3. Those are amazing. And look at the color of that water!

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    1. The color of the water at Lake Powell is always amazing. On that particular day, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was right above us and *very* intense!

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    1. They're two of the places where you need lots of gigs on your SD card for your digital camera because you're going to be taking boatloads of photos. In that general area: Lake Powell, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, Sunset Crater...... need I go on? LOL

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  5. Amazing! Didn't you feel really small passing through such big country?

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    1. Many people do, but I've discovered that I don't always react the same way as others. I can honestly say that I don't really feel small... but the sense of my own importance is put into a better perspective, and I feel...at home and at peace. Connected.

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  6. Awesome! I love visiting that part of the country!!

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    1. I do, too. Thankfully I live here so I can see many corners of this area that most visitors don't. Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. Wow! I love rock formations, especially the colorful ones. Coincidentally, I'm also showcasing some here at MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT

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  8. Those huge rock formations make me feel so insignificent. And I never realized there was a variation in the color. Most of the photos I see are all red tones, never blue. This means I must get out there and see them for myself.

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    1. Blue, black, white, orange, sage green... they never look the same through someone else's eyes, so yes, you do need to see them for yourself. I could plot your entire itinerary, including places to stay. I love it up there!

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  9. These are quite incredible. I've never heard of these.

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    1. Neither had I until Denis and I went traveling up there. Thanks for stopping by, Irene!

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  10. What amazing patterns! That first one especially looks designed.

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    1. It does, doesn't it? Almost everyone on the boat could've stayed there and looked at it for hours.

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  11. Amazing what colours minerals can make in rocks. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Those are beautiful - never seen anything like it! I was amazed at the brilliant water color in the first one and kept looking to see if that was really water (or something artificial like a boat deck). :)

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    1. Nope. That's water. The sun was so intense that day that when Denis and I got to our room in the evening and I got undressed to take a shower, I discovered that I'd been sunburned through my shirt *and* my bra (I had very lacy tan lines for quite a while). That's never happened to me before or since!

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  13. Beautiful natural formations, and now I know what causes them. I think a boat tour of Lake Powell just went on my bucket list.

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    1. Denis and I want to go back and take the Rainbow Bridge tour. I think it's a wonderful addition to your bucket list.

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  14. Stunning! It is amazing how variegated the colors are - just like a tapestry.

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    1. I'd never heard that term before in connection with the streaking on canyon walls, but it certainly fits!

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  15. wow...what bequtiful scenery!!

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    1. There's so much to see and to experience up there. I don't think any one person could see and do it all in one lifetime.

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  16. Such beauty-and so different from where I live. Thanks for sharing-both the photo and the explanation to go with it.
    *smiles*

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    1. You're very welcome. Thanks for stopping by!

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  17. Gorgeous! My daughter and I are studying rocks at the moment so I showed her the pix and she said, "Ooh, can we go there?" Maybe one day.

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    1. I hope you do get to go there. It's a trip you'll never forget.

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  18. Beautiful. I've seen walls like that a few times and found the stunning, but I'd no idea that they were called Navajo tapestry walls. It's always fun to learn something new.

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  19. Oh My God! I've never seen anything like this before. I really like the picture with the water in it. I also love your blog book header! This is my first visit and it's thanks to Alyce's Saturday Snapshot of course.
    I'll follow you on twitter as well as here and be sure to stop back.

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    1. My blog header photo is one that I took of one of my bookshelves, so I'm glad you like it! This is the first time I've participated in Alyce's meme, and I have to say that I've met a lot of new folks-- which is wonderful!

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  20. Those are absolutely beautiful! Such lovely countryside and so much history of our planet right there in the rock face.

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    1. Monument Valley, which is in between Lake Powell and canyon de Chelly has been called "the land of room enough and time enough" by the Navajo. I can see why. This entire area makes you completely forget the concept of time. And the distances are vast!

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  21. Wow, those are fascinating rock formations. These kind of pics always make me think of how some people believe the Earth is only several thousands of years old. Methinks those exposed cliffs have looked like that for several million TIMES that long!
    Cheers!

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    1. I agree-- although one of our Navajo guides pointed out a huge pile of boulders and said, "That was standing last week!" I wonder what it would be like to be present when one of those huge rock formations collapsed?

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  22. Beautiful! They really do look like tapestries. Very nice photos.

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    1. Thanks, Marie! I'd love to see all your trees in their new mantles of leaves!

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  23. I would love to see those in real life. The water looks amazing too!

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  24. Nature's own art. It's breathtaking, Cathy. Thank you for sharing.

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