Cortez, CO to Gallup, NM

SOUTHWESTERN USA
RS ROAD TRIP




August 24, 2017 (Day 17)

Cortez, CO to Gallup, NM
Miles Today: 191 / Total Trip Miles: 2,743

Today's Route

(Click on map to enlarge)

{Photo on flickr}

The route from Cortez, Colorado (6,200 ft elevation) to Gallup, New Mexico (elevation 6,500 ft) travels through four states (Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico). The remote high-desert landscape is highlighted by spectacular monolithic rock formations. The weather was hot with temperatures ranging from the high 90 degrees to low 100s. The rock formation shown above is Ford Butte.



PHOTOS
(Click on Photo for a Larger Image

Chimney Rock

 Chimney Rock, Colorado is an abrupt butte jutting skyward. This formation is one of the many "Chimney Rocks" located in the American Southwest. The photo of Chimney Rock and the adjacent mesa was taken looking east from along U.S. Highway 491, south of the Ute Mountain Casino. Elevation of Chimney Rock is 6,100 feet.

{Photo on flickr]

Four Corners Monument

The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states—resulting in the area being named the Four Corners region. The monument also marks the boundary between two semi-autonomous Native American governments: the Navajo Nation, which maintains the monument as a tourist attraction, and the Ute Mountain Tribe. Elevation at the Monument is 4,900 feet.

Shiprock 

After Four Corners, the barren Arizona and New Mexico landscape continues with many amazing rock formations. The Shiprock formation (7,200 ft elevation) located in New Mexico is a volcanic plug—the remains of a volcano that erupted more than 30 million years ago.  The volcanic neck, or the central feeder pipe, has since eroded away. The neck is composed of fractured volcanic rock, or breccia, crosscut by many thin veins of lava. Shiprock is composed of an unusual, highly potassic magma composition called a "minette". Shiprock was probably 2,500 to 3,300 feet below the land surface at the time it was formed, and has since gained its prominent form due to erosion of surrounding rocks. 

Rising nearly 1,600 feet above the barren desert plain, it's the single most prominent figure on this desert landscape. On a clear day, Shiprock can be seen from Mesa Verde, a point just beyond the old Visitors Center and Far View Hotel.  In the Navajo language, the name of this peak translates to "rock with wings" or "winged rock"—referring to the giant bird that carried the Navajo from the cold north to the warmer desert area.  When the white settlers came to the area, they called it "Ship Rock"—as it resembled the sails on a Clipper ship.  

There are no amenities at the site, and it is forbidden to hike or climb on this sacred peak. This photo of Shiprock was taken from U.S. Highway 64, west of the town of Shiprock.

{Photo on flickr}

Primitive Tire Shop

This tire shop is located in the town of Shiprock, New Mexico. Shiprock (Navajo: Naatʼáanii Nééz) is located at an elevation of 4,900 feet on the Navajo reservation. Shiprock is named after the nearby rock formation of "Shiprock" (see above). The population of 8,200 is almost entirely Native American (97%).  

A few motion pictures have been filmed at Shiprock. The 1987 film Made in U.S.A. starring Adrian Pasdar, Chris Penn and Lori Singer. Paramount's 1994 film Pontiac Moon starring Ted Danson was partially shot here. Shiprock was one of the filming locations for the 1994 crime film Natural Born Killers. The 2002 film Rocks With Wings follows the Navajo members of the Lady Chieftains, the girls' basketball team from Shiprock High School, as they struggle with a new black coach, their own expectations, and those of their community and the "Anglo" world around them.

{Photo on flickr}

Ford Butte
Photo taken looking east from U.S. Highway 491. Across the highway, toward the west, Bennett Peak can be observed. See below. The elevation of Ford Butte is 6,100 feet.
{Photo on flickr}

Bennett Peak

Photo of Bennett Peak and cattle guard was taken looking west from U.S. Highway 491. The elevation of Bennett Peak is 6,400 feet. Across the highway toward the west, Ford Butte (see above) can be viewed.

{Photo on flickr}

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Tomorrow
Mary and I drive to Holbrook, Arizona via the Petrified Forest National Park and some sections of Historic Route 66.

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Copyright
These photographs are the property of Leon Jackson, and are protected by copyright laws. Photographs may not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Leon Jackson. © 2017 Leon Jackson. All Rights Reserved.

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