Black Falls is a natural basalt rock dam and significant crossing place on the
Little Colorado River
The Little Colorado River () is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in ...
in
Coconino County
Coconino County is a county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff. The county takes its name from ''Cohonino'', a name applied to the Havasupai p ...
, Arizona near the
Wupatki National Monument. The crossing lends its name to the sparsely populated Black Falls community of the
Navajo Nation which is nearby.
Geology
Around 20,000 years ago the Grand Falls Lava Flow consisting of
alkali olivine basalt
Alkali basalt or alkali olivine basalt is a dark-colored, porphyritic volcanic rock usually found in oceanic and continental areas associated with volcanic activity, such as oceanic islands, continental rifts and volcanic fields. Alkali basalt ...
proceeded along the
Little Colorado River
The Little Colorado River () is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in ...
bed from a vent near
Merriam crater. At Black Falls Crossing the lava flow has blocked the river channel so that when the river is flowing a ten-foot high waterfall is formed.
At other times the rock is completely covered by sand.
Uranium mining
The
Navajo people have been affected by uranium mining in the area. There are a large number of abandoned uranium mines to the north and east of the crossing.
In 2007 the Navajo People of the Black Falls community were awarded an Environmental Justice Grant by the EPA due to uranium pollution of drinking water wells.
History
Black Falls Crossing has long been a significant crossing place.
It was on the major
Hopi
The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...
trail from villages to the
San Francisco Peaks
The San Francisco Peaks (Navajo: , es, Sierra de San Francisco, Hopi: ''Nuva'tukya'ovi'', Western Apache: ''Dził Tso'', Keres: ''Tsii Bina'', Southern Paiute: ''Nuvaxatuh'', Havasupai-Hualapai: ''Hvehasahpatch''/''Huassapatch''/''Wik'hanbaja'', ...
, was the turning point of the
Sitgreaves Expedition and rest stop on the
Mormon Trail
The Mormon Trail is the long route from Illinois to Utah that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled for 3 months. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon ...
.
In 1940 Black Falls Irrigation Project was commenced by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
and
Civilian Conservation Corps to improve farming prospects in the area.
Black Falls Dam was built adjacent to the crossing in an attempt to divert water to an irrigation system.
The project was abandoned in 1942 due to a lack of funds, leaving the dam in place.
Black Falls Trading Post
In 1941 Black Falls
Trading Post was established by Emmett Kellam on the south-west side of the river to trade with Navajos camped on the north side working for the irrigation project.
After the project ceased the trading post continued to serve the Navajo living in the area, and became one of the most important locations for local Navajo trading activity through the 1940s and fifties.
A 1943 land transfer had made the post part of the Wupatki National Monument, and it consequently served as a centre for social activities and meetings.
The post was demolished in 1964.
See also
*
Grand Falls, Arizona
References
*
{{coord, 35, 34, 44, N, 111, 17, 04, W, region:US_type:city_source:GNIS, display=title
Populated places in Coconino County, Arizona