45 (D-86) Monument Valley / Mexican Hat

45 (D-86) There is only one main road through Monument Valley, US 163, a long straight empty road leads across flat desert towards the high red cliffs on the horizon. The largest cliff is 1000 feet high (300 meters).

The Navajo name for the valley is Tsé Bii' Ndzisgaii (Valley of the Rocks).

Monument Valley is not far from the Four Corners area, which

unfortunately we won't have time to see. Look at the map and you can understand why it is called The Four Corners. You can stand in four states at the same time: Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. It is the only place in the entire United States where this is possible.

We'll be spending the night in Mexican Hat, at the San Juan Inn. Mexican Hat is not a city; it is not a town; it is a census-designated place (CDP) because it is so small.

What's the population of Mexican Hat?

Check this out.

Get a load of this.

Are you ready for this one?

(Three colloquial ways of announcing something surprising.)

The population of Mexican Hat is....75 (in 2009)!

It is on U.S. Route 163 and is just outside the northern boundary of both the Navajo Nation and Monument Valley. 75 in 2009; 88 in 2000; 259 in 1990. A big decrease!

Jane

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VOCABULARY:

cliffs = "falaises"

boundary = "limite"