Ancient Ruins at Nankoweap Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

In this photograph, ancient granaries cling to narrow ledges high on the walls just downstream from Nankoweap Canyon as the Colorado River flows beneath the high cliffs of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Ancestral Puebloans occupied these canyons for hundreds of years before 1300AD. They farmed flat areas lining the banks of the Colorado River upstream from this location. These people likely wintered here in the warm depths of the canyon and migrated up Nankoweap Canyon to access the wildlife-rich high elevations of the Kaibab Plateau during the hot summer months. In addition to food storage these ruins may have also served as habitation during portions of the year. The unnatural green tint of the Colorado River results from the effects of Glen Canyon Dam upriver from this location.