Shiprock ( nv, , "rock with wings" or "winged rock") is a

monadnock An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

rising nearly above the high-desert plain of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

in San Juan County,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, United States. Its peak elevation is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. It is about southwest of the town of Shiprock, which is named for the peak. Governed by the Navajo Nation, the formation is in the

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

region and plays a significant role in Navajo

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

, and tradition. It is located in the center of the area occupied by the Ancient Pueblo People, a prehistoric Native American culture of the

Southwest United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

often referred to as the

Anasazi The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...

. Shiprock is a point of interest for rock climbers and photographers and has been featured in several film productions and novels. It is the most prominent landmark in northwestern New Mexico. In 1975, Shiprock was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Name

The Navajo name for the peak, , "rock with wings" or "winged rock", refers to the legend of the great bird that brought the Navajo from the north to their present lands. The name "Shiprock" or Shiprock Peak or Ship Rock derives from the peak's resemblance to an enormous 19th-century

clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...

ship. Americans first called the peak "The Needle", a name given to the topmost pinnacle by Captain J. F. McComb in 1860.Laurance D. Linford, ''Navajo Places: History, Legend, Landscape'', University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, 2000, , p. 264–265.

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

maps indicate that the name "Ship Rock" dates from the 1870s.Butterfield, Mike, and Greene, Peter, ''Mike Butterfield's Guide to the Mountains of New Mexico'', New Mexico Magazine Press, 2006,

Geology

Shiprock, an example of a volcanic neck, is composed of fractured

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of di ...

and black

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

s of

igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...

rock called minette, a type of lamprophyre. It is the erosional remnant of the throat of a volcano, and the

volcanic breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of di ...

formed in a diatreme. The rock probably was originally formed 2,500–3,000 feet (750–1,000 meters) below the Earth's surface, but it was exposed after millions of years of erosion. Wall-like sheets of minette, known as

s, radiate away from the central formation. Radiometric age determinations of the minette establish that these volcanic rocks solidified about 27 million years ago. Shiprock is in the northeastern part of the Navajo volcanic field—a field that includes intrusions and flows of minette and other unusual igneous rocks that formed about 30 million years ago.

Agathla Agathla Peak or Agathlan ( nv, Aghaałą́, es, link=no, El Capitan) is a peak south of Monument Valley, Arizona, which rises over 1500 feet (457 meters) above the surrounding terrain. It is north of Kayenta, Arizona, Kayenta and is visible ...

(El Capitan) in

Monument Valley Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona s ...

is another prominent volcanic neck in this volcanic field.Steven C. Semken, ''The Navajo Volcanic Field'', in ''Volcanology in New Mexico'', New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 18, p. 79–83, 2001. Paul T. Delaney, ''Ship Rock, New Mexico: The vent of a violent volcanic eruption'', Geological Society of America Centennial Field Guide—Rocky Mountain Section, pp. 411–415, 1987. Map of the Navajo Volcanic Fields

Climbing history and legal status

The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

was in 1939, by a

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

party including

David Brower David Ross Brower (; July 1, 1912 – November 5, 2000) was a prominent environmentalist and the founder of many environmental organizations, including the John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies (1997), Friends of the Earth (1969), Eart ...

, Raffi Bedayn,

Bestor Robinson Bestor Robinson (February 9, 1898 – December 9, 1987) was an American mountaineer, environmentalist, attorney and inventor. He was a law partner of Earl Warren, later governor of California and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United S ...

and John Dyer. This was the first climb in the United States to use expansion bolts for protection.

Piton A piton (; also called ''pin'' or ''peg'') in climbing is a metal spike (usually steel) that is driven into a crack or seam in the climbing surface using a climbing hammer, and which acts as an anchor for protecting the climber against the ...

s were used for direct aid. This first ascent route is featured in the book ''

Fifty Classic Climbs of North America ''Fifty Classic Climbs of North America'' is a climbing guidebook and history written by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. It is considered a classic piece of climbing literature, known to many climbers as simply "The Book", and has served as an inspi ...

''. Since then at least seven routes have been climbed on the peak, all of them of great technical difficulty. A modification of the original route is recorded as the easiest, and it is rated as Grade IV, YDS 5.9, A1. It was considered a great unsolved problem by the climbing community in the 1920s and 1930s. At that time there was a widespread rumor of a $1000 prize for climbing the peak, which inspired "dozens of attempts by the experienced and inexperienced alike". The idea of climbing Shiprock is repugnant to many Navajo people. Climbing has been illegal since 1970.Navajo Parks and Recreation Department
/ref>Shiprock Chapter
/ref> In spite of this, rock climbers continue to see Shiprock as an interesting place to climb. Serious injuries to three climbers in March 1970 caused the Navajo Nation to ban rock climbing not only on Shiprock but all over the Navajo Nation on monoliths, spires and within tribal parks under the jurisdiction of Navajo Parks & Recreation. The Navajo Nation announced that the ban was "absolute, final and unconditional". According to reports from the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department, which administers recreational activities on Navajo land, there have been false claims that the department allows rock climbing and cooperates with rock climbing organizations. A 2006 press release addressing

, another area of monoliths within the Navajo Nation, states: Permits are issued by the department to camp and hike in some areas, but not for sacred monuments such as Shiprock.

Religious and cultural significance

Shiprock and the surrounding land have religious and historical significance to the

Navajo people The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

. It is mentioned in many of their myths and legends. Foremost is the peak's role as the agent that brought the Navajo to the southwest. According to one legend, after being transported from another place, the Navajos lived on the monolith, "coming down only to plant their fields and get water." One day, the peak was struck by lightning, obliterating the trail and leaving only a sheer cliff, and stranding the women and children on top to starve. The presence of people on the peak is forbidden "for fear they might stir up the (ghosts), or rob their corpses." Navajo legend puts the peak in a larger geographic context. Shiprock is said to be either a medicine pouch or a bow carried by the "Goods of Value Mountain", a large mythic male figure comprising several mountain features throughout the region. The Chuska Mountains comprise the body, Chuska Peak is the head, the

Carrizo Mountains The Carrizo Mountains (36°50' N, 109°7'W) is a small, mostly circular mountain range 15 to 20 km (9 to 12 miles) in diameter located on the Colorado Plateau in northeastern Arizona. The range is about southwest of the Four Corners. The hig ...

are the legs, and

Beautiful Mountain Beautiful Mountain ( nv, Dziłkʼi Hózhóonii) is part of the Chuska Mountains and its summit is the highest point in San Juan County, New Mexico. The mountain is about southwest of the community of Shiprock in the Four Corners region. It is ...

is the feet. Navajo legend has it that Bird Monsters () nested on the peak and fed on human flesh. After Monster Slayer, elder of the Warrior Twins, destroyed at Red Mesa, he killed two adult Bird Monsters at Shiprock and changed two young ones into an eagle and an owl.Shiprock on Dark Isle
/ref> The peak is mentioned in stories from the Enemy Side Ceremony and the Navajo Mountain Chant, and is associated with the Bead Chant and the Naayee'ee Ceremony.

Climate

Images

References

External links

Shiprock.org: Shiprock

Shiprock @ discover-navajo

flickr: Shiprock photo gallery

3D Movie tour of Shiprock
{{Authority control Rock formations of New Mexico Religious places of the indigenous peoples of North America Landmarks in New Mexico Volcanic plugs of the United States Diatremes of New Mexico Landforms of San Juan County, New Mexico Geography of the Navajo Nation National Natural Landmarks in New Mexico Oligocene volcanism Oligocene North America Neogene geology of New Mexico