Window Rock is in Eastern Arizona . It is in Apache County. The town is located on State Highway 264, near the New Mexican border. The huge red sandstone hole in the rock is how the town received its name and is a formation that symbolizes the town.

Overview:
Window Rock is the capital of the Navajo Nation. Today Window Rock has a population of 3,300. The climate is mild all year round with a winter low Temperature of 12 degrees and a summer high Temperature of 87 degrees. This is one town on the Navajo Indian Reservation that is jammed packed full of interesting attractions and outdoor activities. If you can only make one stop during your travel across the reservation, then this just has to be it.

Community Features:
Window Rock as so many attractions, many of which give visitors an opportunity to learn about the Navajo culture. The Visitors Center and Navajo Tribal Museum was established in 1961 to focus on the history, culture and art of the Navajo Nation. Visitors will see many unique artifacts and beautiful crafts. One special area describes the development of the designs and symbols used by the Navajo.

Visitors to Window Rock should drop in and take a look around. St. Michaels Historic Museum is located in town. It was the first Franciscan Mission on the Navajo Reservation built in 1898. It was one of the first constructed as a mission complex. Today after being restored, the building is on the National Historic Register of Historical Places. The museum has many religious artifacts and information on the history of the mission. It also has a gift shop.

The Ned. A. Hatathli Center Museum is a modern high-rise building that can be spotted from far away. The museum is located 60 miles north of Window Rock, on State Highway 12. One area of the building is dedicated to the history and culture of the Navajo people and another explains other Native American tribes. There are displays including peace pipes, clothing and rattles.

The Hatathli Sales Gallery inside the museum has many pieces on show. The Navajo Nation Zoological and Botanical Park contains a variety of animals and plants that are indigenous to the region. The six-acre park is the only Native American operated zoo in the United States. Visitors will see bobcats, rattlesnakes, coyote, eagles and box turtles. It is an unusual stop that kids will enjoy.

Another terrific attraction you must visit is Hubbells Trading Post, which lies in the town of Ganado, a few miles to the east. It is the longest continually active trading post on the Navajo Indian Reservation and has been designated a National Historic Site. John Lorenzo Hubbell began trading at this site in 1878 and built this post in 1883. He was a man, who treated the Native American Indians fairly. During a time when the Navajos were adjusting to a new way of life on a reservation, Hubbell extended his hand by providing a place to socialize and do business. Visitors will find many kinds of Indian crafts, such as Navajo silver jewelry, sand paintings and pottery. You definitely dont want to miss the rug room. Here you will be amazed at the numerous rugs for sale. The Hubbell House is open to guided tours. The new home has many original furnishings.

There are a few outdoor activities that will make your trip to town memorable. Window Rock is a sandstone cliff created by wind, sand and water which eroded an opening that reveals a broad sweep of country. It looks as if it had been made by the poke of a giants finger. However, Navajo legend has it that the Giant Snake made it. The Giant Snake crawled along the expanse of sandstone and eventually created a passageway to the other side. It is a huge, red sandstone formation that is 47 feet in diameter and 100 feet high.

The formation suggests a window through a rock and it is listed as one the Seven Wonders of the World. Climbing the rock is forbidden. It is a scared place to the Navajo. Visitors can still get a good look at Window Rock from below by hiking around it. There are pieces still seen today near its base that are from a prehistoric pueblo. Kinlichee Tribal Park is only 22 miles west of Window Rock. The park covers 640 acres and is a complex of Anasazi ruins. Visitors can take a self-guided hiking trail to the ruins and travel by exhibits explaining the dwellings. There are picnic areas that overlook the ruins. The Window Rock and Tse Bonito Navajo Parks are actually two parks and when combined stretch 121 acres. Both sit on the edge of town, Window Rock is to the north and east and Tse Bonito is on the south. Camping is available at both parks.

Events:

4th of July Celebration and Pow-Wow July
Annual Tribal Fair September
Northern Navajo Fair October

History:

Window Rock is a sandstone cliff where wind, sand and water eroded an opening that reveals a broad expanse of country. The Navajo legend has it that the Giant Snake made it. The Giant Snake crawled along the expanse of sandstone and eventually created a passageway to the other side. It is a huge, red sandstone formation that is 47 feet in diameter and 100 feet above. The formation suggests a window through a rock and it is listed as one the Seven Wonders of the World.

During 1300 A.D., a multiroom apartment complex was built on the east side of Black Creek Valley, below Window Rock. Remains of this community can still be seen today.

In the early 1930s John Collie,r the Commissioner of Indian Affairs declared that Tseghahodzani should be the center of administration for the Navajo Tribe. Tseghahodzani means the rock with the hole in it. Then in 1966, the Bureau of Indian Affairs established an area office in Window Rock.

Today, the elected tribal council meets in the council house at least four times a year. Window Rock is a commercial and administrative growth center.