Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monument

By now, most people have at least heard of the Anasazi people of the southwest. The Navajos called them the “Ancient Enemy.” Lately, it's been correct to call them “Ancestral Puebloans.” Whatever their name, these hardy people lived in the southwest about 1,000 years ago until the early 1300s. They built their homes from pits in the ground, then later out of rock structures in farming communities and cliff dwellings.

While it might be argued that some Anasazi communities lived among the cliffs, and others lived in more flat land closer to their crops, some people believe that they moved from the cliffs in the winter to the fields for crop raising in the summer.

 One excellent example the Anasazi culture is the Wupatki National Monument. Located just northwest of Flagstaff, and south of the Grand Canyon National Park, Wupatki makes an excellent side trip from I-40, Flagstaff, Williams, or the Grand Canyon.

It's thought that the Wupatki community was occupied mostly around 1100, after drought conditions around the Colorado Plateau forced Anasazi farmers to abandon their fields – some of them to the north – and seek better areas to farm. The proximity of the Sunset Volcano, and its activity around 1100 caused a layer of volcanic cinders to be spread over the ground locally, which allowed the ground to hold moisture longer and more efficiently. This made farming easier and more successful for a time, and attracted several thousand people to this area where they farmed for at least 100 years. 

Another important feature of Wupatki is its location. Archaeologists found that while the structures were built in the Anasazi way, they were furnished with Sinagua pottery and other artifacts, indicating that a trade system among different peoples had developed.

How to Get There – To get to Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments from Flagstaff, take Highway 89 north. The entrance is a 35 mile loop road located at 12 and 26 miles north of Flagstaff. The easiest way from the Grand Canyon is to exit the park on Highway 64 to the east at Desert View. At Cameron, turn south on Highway 89 and travel about 20.4 miles to the first Turnoff at NF-545. This is the first turnoff to the 35 mile loop that travels first through Wupatki, then through Sunset Crater National Monument, exiting at Highway 89. From there, it's about 35 miles back to Cameron, or about 13 miles south to I-40 in Flagstaff.

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