Walnut Canyon National Monument is an archaeological and natural preserve located about 10 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona. Established in 1915, it protects ancient cliff dwellings built by the Sinagua people between approximately 1100 and 1250 CE within a 400-foot-deep limestone canyon carved by Walnut Creek. The monument is notable for its accessible trails, biodiversity, and cultural importance to descendant Indigenous communities.

The Sinagua (“without water” in Spanish) constructed more than 300 masonry rooms within natural alcoves of the canyon’s Kaibab limestone. These structures sheltered extended families who farmed the mesa tops, cultivating corn, beans, and squash. Archaeological evidence shows extensive trade links across the Colorado Plateau. By about 1250 CE, residents had migrated from the canyon; their descendants include the Hopi, Zuni, and other Puebloan peoples who maintain cultural and spiritual ties to the site.