Navajo+Climate+and+Geography+1800-present



From: Iverson, Peter. "Navajo." // Encyclopedia Americana //. 2009. Grolier Online. 11 Apr. 2009 <[]>.
 * Spiritual Geography **

·  strong cultural ties to this area and geographic location affected stories and mythology ·  traditional stories about four sacred mountains (each associated with a direction, colour and season) o  This land between these mountains are the traditional homes of the Navajo ·  These mountains are: o  East: Blanca Peak ( Sis Naajini) o  South: Mount Taylor (Tsoodzil) o  West: San Francisco Peaks (Dook’o’oosliid) o  North: Mount Hesperus (Dibé Nitsaa) ·  Another significant mountain was the Gobernador Knob (Ch'ool'i'i) where the cultural figure The Changing Woman was found o  thought mountains had been placed there for themselves o  had responsibility to care for them and the wildlife around them

From: Rissetto, Adriana. "Sacred Mountains as Geographical Markers." __Four Sacred Mountains__. 1997. 4 May 2009 [] ·  Navajo Nation reservation (on traditional Navajo land) is 25,000 square miles and is in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado ·  Navajo Nation part of Colorado Plateau (rocky area with a wise range of elevations) ·  Land includes wide plains, tablelands, mesas, and mountains o  Elevations range from 3,500 feet(above sea level)-10,000 + feet ·  Three main topographies/climates: o  Warm and arid desert (sparse low lying plant life) o  Intermediate steppe climate (produces more foliage than desert) o  Cold mountain climate (pine,oak and other trees that can survive in sub humid weather)
 * Current Geography **