Because the land is on the Navajo Nation and is of financial interest to the tribe due to development nearby, the BIA reported "nothing of consequence" in regards to the land and potsherds (imo, they must've been blind to miss the huge field of potsherds in front of them). My inlaws are in a very heated battle about this development right now. Because it is on the Navajo reservation, it is under the jurisdiction of tribal law. We can't just call an archaeologist and ask them to come out (I contacted NAU last year in attempt to do just this but tribal laws prevent investigation of such sites without tribal involvement).

Most of the potsherds that I have seen out there are either corrugated or black on white. Definitely ancestral puebloan (aka anasazi). I've only seen a couple pieces that contain red. The age of the pottery could be anywhere from 600-1250 years old. Full pots have been discovered by the canyon. Arrowheads surround the butte on the other side of the property.

I haven't done any digging at all in the area because I'm dreadfully concerned about spoiling anything should we ever manage to get the area examined. As a result, I have no idea how deep the soil layers are there. Considering it is a high desert, I would assume that it couldn't be that thick. The soil out there is predominantly clay. The red tone to the soil is probably due to iron oxidization. People do grow crops of corn, beans, and squash out there so I would think that the soil is at least decent enough for that. My Navajo grandmother raises sheep for both the meat and the wool. This is her primary source of income after social security.

It's a high desert so it really doesn't get alot of rain. There are two periods in the year where there can be precipitation, winter and the monsoon season in the spring. The annual rainfall is around 25 cm (10 inches). Luckily, there is a freshwater spring on the property whose source is apparently an aquifer. The water from this spring is probably cleaner and fresher than most tap water. People will drive to the ranch from miles around just to access this spring on the property because the area has been hit by a terrible drought over the past several years. Alot of washes in the area have been dry and even the Rio Grande almost looked like it was gone. Thankfully, the increased precipitation that we have been having as of late as the Rio Grande in Albuquerque watery again.

The area is on the Colorado plateau and it is a high desert. It will get pretty hot out there during the summer and will often reach about 38 degrees Celsius during the day. The temperature at night will drop sometimes up to 10 degrees C. This drop isn't so bad in the summer as the ground continues to put off heat but during the winter, it can get very cold. It's about 4 degrees celsius here at 10:30 in the morning. By afternoon, it should be around 10 degrees and then dropping back around 0-1 degree overnight. It's cold.

Needless to say, the climate is pretty harsh. But it makes for really beautiful rock formations...

Stephanie

In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil.--Ralph Waldo Emerson