Natural Resources at Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Yucca Cave Overlook from North Rim Drive in Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

NPS

Canyon de Chelly National Monument lies within Navajo Nation lands and encompasses 83,837 acres (33,928 hectares) in northeastern Arizona. The park was designated in 1931 to protect prehistoric villages built between 350 and 1300 A.D., and is cooperatively managed by the Navajo Nation and the National Park Service.

Canyon de Chelly NM is comprised of four main canyons that drain the Chuska Mountains and the Defiance Plateau. The canyons extend from the monument's eastern edge on Defiance Plateau to Chinle Wash at its western edge.

Pinyon-juniper woodland and Colorado Plateau desert shrub communities are found at lower elevations in the park. A transition zone of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) occurs at higher elevations on the rim and in the Chuska Mountains.

Riparian vegetation is found on the canyon bottoms. Hanging gardens, an unusual community of plants, can be found on the cliff faces of canyons.

The monument supports 8 amphibian, 147 bird, 34 fish, 49 mammal, and 14 reptile species. Water resources include streams, both perennial and intermittent, 12 springs, and a perennial pond.

Monitored Here

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• Bird communities
• Climate
• Riparian ecosystems
• Spring ecosystems
• Water quality

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Species Lists

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.

Life Zones

Canyon de Chelly National Monument ranges in elevation from 5,533 to 7,662 feet (1,686-2,335 m) and spans the Semi-Desert Grassland/Shrub Steppe, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, and Ponderosa Pine Forest life zones. It experiences an average annual precipitation of about nine inches (225 mm).

Climate Summary Chart

Charts are an effective way to summarize and graphically represent climate variables. The following chart is based on the diagrams developed for vegetation studies by Walter and Lieth in 1967. Visit our climate page for more information.

Reports & Publications

Inventory Reports

Inventories are point-in-time surveys that help us learn about the resources in our parks. Information obtained through the Southern Colorado Plateau Network’s inventories of park resources helped to establish a base level of data, which has served as a starting point for our natural resource monitoring.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3515 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Monitoring Reports

Our monitoring reports provide the most recent published findings from our field work.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3471 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Protocols

Protocols describe how we monitor. They include a descriptive narrative of what we monitor and why, our field methods, how we analyze and manage our data, and more. All of our protocols are peer reviewed.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 3280 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Find additional documents on our Reports & Publications pages.

Links

Park Flora (SEINet)