--Ruins and Renewals
Slideshow by cobalt
Ancient ruins of the Sinagua Indians at Wupatki Ruins National Monument, Arizona. Many of the images are taken from the nearby and smaller Wukoki Ruins, my favorite go-to place in Arizona. The mix of manmade habitation into large redstone foundations and wind-eroded rock is a magical setting in the sunset.
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Wukoki Whole
From the large "balcony" of the second story you can see through a hole down below the first level and waaaaay down to the base of the large sandstone boulder it was built upon.
Photo by cobalt123
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Wukoki Big Curves
A very large 3-story house was built by the ancestors of the Hopi. These Sinagua Indian ruins are still three stories tall! Near Flagstaff, Arizona.
Photo by cobalt123
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Wukoki Curves
Curves in the red sandstone at Wukoki National Monument today near Flagstaff, Arizona. The color is right. View down from the second story of the three-story ruins.
Photo by cobalt123
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Northeast side of Wukoki Ruins
This three story house built between 1100 and 1180 AD was built atop and around a very large red sandstone boulder.
Photo by cobalt123
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Georgia O'Keefe Maybe
A view down a crevice built into the second level at Wukoki Ruins.
Photo by cobalt123
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Wukoki Wind Erosion
One of the many large redstone boulders near the Wukoki Ruins. This is in the high desert near Sunset Crater. The sun was going down, so much photoshop to try to bring out some of the gentle detail.
Photo by cobalt123
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Stalwart Desert Plants
Right near the ancient ruins of Wukoki, Arizona. Amazing plants can grow in this soil and wind.
Photo by cobalt123
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Path to the Wukoki Ruins, Centuries of Wind Erosion
The landscape is fairly surreal here in the high desert. Combine that with colors deepened from the impending storms and sunset, and it results in moody images.
Photo by cobalt123
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Wukoki Ruins Redstones at Sunset
Painterly coloring of the wind eroded redstone.
Photo by cobalt123
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Floating Foundation for the Wukoki Dwelling
Many photos are in the set for Wukoki Ruins. This is the far northeast corner on the exposed hill of redstone boulders. The three story dwelling rests tucking in with the redstone boulders. The shot with the sunlight highlights on the corner of the home was taken from this spot.
Photo by cobalt123
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Redstone Slab Boulders, Eroded
The winds can be fierce in this high desert of a volcanic field in northern Arizona. This was taken as the sun was going down near Wukoki Ruins. The painterly quality I've tried to reproduce is as close as I can come to how this really looks at sunset on a stormy day. The drama of the light lime greens and yellows, with the gray-blue sage, really sets off the redstone and the mountains in the distance.
Photo by cobalt123
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Wukoki Ruins Redstone Toupees
There must be a geologic term for weathered redstone that looks like so many toupees piled atop one another. Or as suggested, sliced of ham. This is at the Wukoki Ruins, near the Sunset Crater, Arizona.
Photo by cobalt123
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Sunset Comes to Silent Rocks
The real desert gold, at Wupatki Ruins - definitely best at the largest size of the original on flickr.com. You can see where the ancient relatives of the Navajo and Hopi built their homes right into the red rock boulders. Wupatki Ruins and Wukoki Ruins both have sets in my stream. For a contrast with "modern man and brickwork", see bdinphoenix photo here for Ft. Henry.
Photo by cobalt123
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Built into Boulders
Wupatki Ruins, this community of native americans lived here about 1064 AD. Their homes were built right into the massive boulders and cliffs rising in peaks above the high desert. Views are from near sunset, so the lighting is photoshopped to bring out what I saw. Maybe ancient relatives of this guy fed on the corn they grew here.
Photo by cobalt123
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Close View of Manmade Homes in Redstone
The ancient Sinagua people built their multi-story homes right into the massive cliffs, hills, and redstone boulders in this land of a volcanic field in Arizona. The chinked rocks are both mortared and unmortared with the natural shapes of the redstone basis.
Photo by cobalt123
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Deep Crack, Wupatki Ruins
Interesting that the Sinagua had built their multi-story homes right into the redstone boulders, even building around this deep crack that must have been there for centuries before habitation. For scale, the people in the bottom left corner are about 60 feet away, and the #17 marker is about a foot tall. This marks one of the rooms in this dwelling.
Photo by cobalt123
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Sunset Comes to Ancient Rocks
Taken above the multi-family ancient Indian ruins of homes and community life - Wupatki Ruins, Arizona. This is near Sunset Crater, about 16 to 30 miles or so east of Flagstaff. Foreground boulders must weigh a ton or more each. Directly across from here to the west, gwilmore has a great shot of the Wupatki Ruins - go see it!
Photo by cobalt123