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Grand Canyon National Park (Thomas Crochetiere photo)

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

P.O. Box 588 Chinle, AZ 86503

928-674-5500

Canyon de Chelly National Monument preserves ruins of the early American Indian tribes that lived in the area, including the Ancient Puebloans and Navajo. For nearly 5,000-years, people have lived in these canyons. The monument encompasses the floors and rims of three major canyons. These canyons are the de Chelly, del Muerto and Monument. They were cut by streams with headwaters in the Chuska Mountains, to the east of the monument.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is owned by the Navajo Nation and is the only NPS unit that is owned and cooperatively managed in this manner. Today, Navajo families make their homes, raise livestock, and farm the lands in these canyons. Travel to the canyon floor can only be accessed when accompanied by a park ranger or an authorized Navajo guide.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

1100 W. Ruins Dr. Coolidge, AZ 85128

520-723-3172

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument preserves a group of Ancient Puebloan Peoples Hohokam structures of the Pueblo III and Pueblo IV Eras. “Casa Grande” is Spanish for “big house” and refers to the largest structure on the site. This site contains the remains of a four story structure that may have been abandoned by 1450. A superstructure was erected over the ruins to help protect the remaining ruins from accelerated decay. Whether the Casa Grande was a gathering place for the Desert People or simply a waypoint marker in an extensive system of canals and trading partners is but part of the mystique of the Ruins.

Chiricahua National Monument

12856 East Rhyolite Creek Rd. Willcox, AZ 85643

520-824-3560

Chiricahua National Monument is famous for its extensive vertical rock formations and also preserves the Faraway Ranch. Swedish immigrants Neil and Emma Erickson once owned this ranch and called this place home. The 8-mile paved scenic drive and 17-miles of hiking trails provide opportunities to discover the beauty, natural sounds, and inhabitants of this park.

Coronado National Memorial

4101 E. Montezuma Canyon Rd. Hereford, AZ 85615

520-366-5515

Coronado National Memorial commemorates the first organized expedition into the Southwest by conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. It was a journey of conquest, filled with exploration, wonder and cruelty. Hundreds of European soldiers and over a thousand Indian allies embarked on this journey through arid deserts and rugged mountains in their search for vast cities of gold. They brought rich traditions and new technology into the region, irrevocably changing the lives of native peoples and continuing to influence the area today.

Fort Bowie National Historic Site

3327 Old Fort Bowie Rd. Bowie, AZ 85605

520-847-2500

Fort Bowie National Historic Site protects the remaining buildings of a 19^th century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona. The fort was named in honor of Colonel George Washington Bowie commander of the 5^th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry who first established the fort. Fort Bowie commemorates the bitter conflict between the Chiricahua Apaches and U.S. military. Fort Bowie National Historic Site provides insight into a "clash of cultures," a young nation in pursuit of "manifest destiny" and the American Indian society fighting to preserve its existence.

For more than 30-years, Fort Bowie was the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama. The fort was abandoned in 1894.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

P.O. Box 1507 Page, AZ 86040

928-608-6200

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a recreation and conservation unit that encompasses the area around Lake Powell and lower Cataract Canyon in Utah and Arizona, covering 1.2-million acres of mostly desert. The recreation area offers unparalleled opportunities for water-based and backcountry recreation.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area stretches for hundreds of miles from Lees Ferry in Arizona to the Orange Cliffs of southern Utah, encompassing scenic vistas, geologic wonders, and a vast panorama of human history. The primary purpose of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is for preservation as well as recreation. As such, the area has been developed for access to Lake Powell via five marinas, four camping grounds, two small airports, and houseboat rental concessions.