Dead mans wash

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On a clear day looking across the First Nations Diné (Navajo) Reservation near Four Corners New Mexico, I was flying above Little Shiprock Wash when I lensed this image.

In the foreground is Rock Ridge and Dead Mans Wash while on the left side of the image, that lone standing tower is one of the most sacred places in Dine traditions; Shiprock, which in Diné is called Tsé Bitʼaʼí, meaning either "rock with wings" or "winged rock".

Behind Shiprock in the distance is Table Mesa and Cathedral Cliff and on the right side of the image, those 2 protuberances rising up off the desert floor are Mitten Rock (the larger one) and Rock Mesa (the smaller).

Governed by the Navajo Nation, the formation is in the Four Corners region and plays a significant role in Navajo religion, myth, 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 often referred to as the Anasazi.

The traditional Diné name "Tsé Bitʼaʼí," refers to the legend of the great bird that brought the Navajo from the north to their present lands. I will have a much more detailed post on Shiprock later with some really interesting up close images I lensed of the formation.