Canyon de Chelly National Monument , area of rock formations and archaeological sites in northeast Arizona , United States, in Navajo Reservation immediately east of Chinle. The name is a Spanish corruption of Tsegi , a Navajo word meaning "rock canyon". The monument, built in 1931, occupies 339 square kilometers.
It consists of two main canyons - Canyon de Chelly to the south and Canyon del Nuerto to the north - joining at the west end of the monument . Numerous side canyons lead from the main canyons. These canyons are lined with several hundred pre-Columbian cliff dwellings built at the foot of red sandstone cliffs or in caves on the steep canyon walls. They span a longer period of time than any other ruins in the southwest, ranging from 350 to 1300 ce . Relics of The Basket Maker Culture was chosen among those of the later Cliff Dweller and Pueblo Cultures found . Modern Navajo homes and farms occupy the canyon floor.