Dean M. Chriss
Photography
Afterglow, Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

Afterglow, Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly

(Click image to enlarge)

More than ten minutes after the sun sank below the horizon it illuminated clouds in the west with brilliant red light. Warm light reflected from those clouds cast a shadowless glow over Canyon de Chelly and Spider Rock, as seen in this image. The tall spire near the center of the scene is Spider Rock. It looms more than 800 feet above the canyon floor, which is still home to many Navajo families. The top of the Spider Rock is said to be the home of Spider Woman, one of the Navajo's most important deities. Five periods of native American culture dating from A.D. 348 to the present are represented in Canyon De Chelly and Canyon del Muerto, which comprise Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona.