Red Rock State Park

Red Rock State Park is a unique attraction blending spectacular views of red sandstone cliffs with in impressive array of public facilities ranging from a rodeo arena to a convention center to a museum (Fig. 1). The 'f | Red Rock state Park itors. Red Rock State Park opened in 1972 l't!Zi Yiix,Xj .lj-''-Y-.1li):l/)), l'rffi,:$ ,;,6i;i.:':V)(Pi!a') ,Siffil'& com- and is administeredand maintainedby the code talkers, who served as Marine city of Gallup. The $6million complex(Young, munication specialistsduring World War II 1984)is probably the most frequently visited (Brown, 1977).Eventually 420Navaios served &,3d statepark in New Mexico. in the group and their codewas the only one never 6rok-enby the Japanese(Paul' 1973)- ' $r*\ I The museum features an art gallery where Facilities in Red Rock State Park 1#fi5'm,:JHffi: The main attraction seum offer colorful arena used for var- is an 8,000-seat outdoor :rt vegetation. Corn, from Motocross com- ious events ranging re grown during the petitions to outdoor concerts (Fig. 1). Some summer in a Pueblo "waffle garden," the tra- 25 rodeos and numerous Indian dances are ditional method of agriculture in the area. held from until mid-November. The In- fune Two campgrounds offer campers modem ter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial and All-Indian convenienies including restrooms with Rodeo are held at the arena every year in picnic tables, electrical and water August. The Lions Club rodeo in is one showers, Oua June hookups, and a sanitary dump station. Sta- of the state's finest. The Shrine Circus and bles for boarding horses are also available' the Square Dance Festival are annual events f attuviatdeposits The main campground features the Outlaw at the park. The Red Rock Balloon Rally in Tradins Post, alog cabin built in 1888and December attracts balloonists from all over Jurassic now uied as a generalstore, laundry, U.S' the world. Office, and information centerfor camp- Additional public facilities at the park in- Post Morrison Formation ing arrangementsand listings of daily events. clude the Red Rock Convention Center, which Piinic areas and a playground are also lo- will accommodate conventions, meetings, F_+_=_E Recaot u re M e m be r cated at the main campground (Fig. 3). concerts, shows, weddings, and private par- Hiking along the one-mile nature trail north ties. The auditorium accommodates 800 peo- Springssandstone the Outlaw Trading Post (Fig. 1.)takes the Wcow ple and has a floating stage and fleible of into undevelopedportions of the park. lighting for diverse events. The seats and visitor Wanakah Formation ground squirrels, prairie dogs, cot- N stage can be lowered to allow banquets with Skunks, rabbits, lizards, gopher snakes, and BeclabitoMember seating for as many as 600 people and a dance tontail may be seen.Other animals,such ffi floor or display area. Seven meeting rooms rattlesnakes Todilto Limestone Member bobcat, and red fox, come to the with capacities of 20 to 150 people and a din- as coyote,-on z park rare occasions.Birds, such as the ing room with 125 seats add to the versatility bluebird, raven, robin, house EntradaSandstone of this center. The outdoor plazaarea can be binon iay, ffi starling, flicker, rock wren, hawk, used forbarbecues, square dances, and trade iparrow, dove, are seen in the park, es- shows (Fig. 2). A restaurant is open on a and morning in crevicesin the massivecliffs. Grama 1. Museum,convention hall, arena seasonal basis and for special events. The pecially rice grass,rabbit brush, salt- complex Inter-Tribal Indian offices are housed at the grass,-Indian and various cacti grow in the valley 2. West campground convention center. 6ush, between pinon and juniper trees. In the 3 Balloonlaunching field At the Red Rock Museum, visitors and higher elevationsof the park, ponderosapine 4. Main campground,historic Outlaw throughout the year can view exhibits and and Gambel oak trees qrow. TradingPost, and U.S. PostOffice displays depicting the history and culture of 5. Naturetrail local and regional Indian tribes, including Navaio, Rio Grande Pueblo, Zuni, Acoma, FIGURE l-Geologic map of Red Rock State Park, History Hopi, and Plains Indians. Pottery, rugs, crafts, sec 11, T15N RlnV (simplified from Green and siteswithin the park reveal up- and paintings are on display. The museum Archaeological fackson, 1975, with stratigraphic terminology occupied by Archaic from Condon and Peterson, 1986, and Con- includes a collection of Zuni Kachina dolls. that the area was once dated Anasazi don et al., 1988) showing location of public facilities. Another exhibit is dedicated to the Navaio (3000 BC), Basketmaker (300 AD), May 1989 Nm Mexico Geology FIGURE_2-Outdoor plaza area with gardens (Fig. 1, location 1). Massive FIGURE 3-Main campground at Red Rock State Park (Fig. 1, Iocation 4) cliffs of EntradaSandstone are in the blckground" offers camping facilities all year long. -Today (1000-1100AD), and finally Navalo Indians. end of a severe winter, the Navaios were and supply coal to the railroad. it is Ancestors of the Navajo and Apache In- defeated;in March 1864they began a 300-mi one of the larger cities in New Mexico. dians migrated into the Southwest about 1500 journey to the Bosque Redondo Reservation Fort Wingate was deactivated in 1911,was AD. The Navaios settled in the Four Corners at Fort Sumner in eastem New Mexico (Young, reopened as Wingate Ordnance Reserve De- region of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and 1968;Bahti, 1968).In 1858, the Navajos were pot in 1918 (james, 7967), and is scheduled Colorado whereas the Apaches settled in allowed to return to their homeland. Fort to close once again in the near future. eastern and southern New Mexico and Wingate, originally located at San Rafael (Fig. southern Arizona. Through contact with the 4), was moved to the abandoned site of Fort Pueblo Indians and Spanish settlers the Na- Lyon in order to be closer to the Navaios. Geology vaios became more dependent on farming With the Indian threat removed, north- Rocks exposed in Red Rock State Park are and grazing, but they continued to raid westem New Mexico could be settled. In 1880, Jurassic (180-140 m.y.) and Quaternary (less neighboring communities. The Spanish and David L. Gallup, a paymaster for the Atlantic than 1 m.y.) in age (Fig. 1); however, Triassic Mexicans perpetuated these raids by attack- and Pacific Railroad, established headquar- (220-200 m.y.) rocks are seen from the park ing and enslaving the Navajos (Strawn, 1967; ters for crews constructing the railroad and are described briefly here. The oldest Young, 1968). (Pearce, 1965) and a town, Gallup, devel- rock unit in the vicinity of Red Rock State General Stephen Kearney conquered New oped around the site. In 1881, the railroad Park is the Triassic Chinle Formation that Mexico in 1846 for the United States and reached Gallup, which continued to prosper promised to end hostilities with the Indians. Peace treaties were signed with various chiefs of the Navalos but all were broken. Fort De- fiance was established in eastern Arizona in 1851(Fig. 4). In 1860,FortFauntleroy, named Navajo Reservation for the Department Commander' Colonel cft'/ .9 Fr Defiance1851-1861 | ( Thomas Fauntleroy, was established at the P .'rr I i site now occupied by Fort Wingate. Because raids by the Navajos increased, Fort Defiance $ ;\ -"-"r"r,,,:88o.)'*gi::i q | \ .i/ (o'(rl I L-J X.state "_",Park i lr, Fauntlero_yFauntleroy 1860l860-1861[:i 1861f:l z '""'r-." '--v \ to join the Confederate forces. Fort Lyon was lFt. w,nsate iL.il';"i p'sist$\1rr,.,,,,",,,,,..,./t4", Mt. Taylor abandoned in December 1861when-the gar- 1, rison was transferred to Fort Craiq near So- __j i4n,. i;".:= corro to meet the Confederate Arirv. which '\) had invaded New Mexico. ,'%un - Navajos increased their raids | ,rn, to'""''.r,,,,, -The during ! o "r"o,oo^''* ),nOr*\.,. i_i.tT]tr"rT:J"t:i 1861and 1862.The defeat of the Confederate ' u,:::D_rJffi forces at Glorieta Pass east of Santa Fe allowed General James Carleton to transfer troops into the Navajo country to subdue the ---- :i;9 i> I raoz,rsoeo Acoma puebto Indians. A new fort, Fort Wingate, was established in 1862at San Rafael, south of Grants (Fig. a). In 1863, Colonel Kit Carson and about EiE_NA 800 men were ordered to pursue the Nava- jos. Carson was unable to engage the Na- vajos in major battles, but he did wipe out their economic base by burning fields and hogans and slaughtering livesiock. By the FIGURE 4-Forts of the Navajo country, New Mexico and Arizona (modified from James, 1967). NrzoMexico Ceology May 1989 35 crops out south of the park (Green and Jack- brown sandstone, siltstone, and shale be- sequences of shale and sandstone. Sand, mud, son, 1975). The formation consists of red, longing to the Beclabito Member. The Becla- and organic remains were deposited in chocolate-brown, purplish-white, and gray bito Member is as much as 50 ft thick and swamps and fluvial environments marginal shales, siltstones, and shaly sandstones; it was deposited in a shallow-water coastal plain to the seas, later forming sandstone, shale, underlies much of the plains south of the environment marginal to the Todilto marine and coal. The rocks were subsequently park. These rocks were deposited by rivers embayment or saline lake (Condon and Pe- eroded, mainly by wind and rain, to form and streams and associated flooding events. terson, 1986). mesas and spires such as Navajo Church. The oldest and most prominent rocks within furassic Cow Springs Sandstone overlies Erosion of the rock continues today and con- Red Rock State Park are the red sandstones the Wanakah Formation (Fig.

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