Shiprock Peak is the remains of a solidified lava core, of a dormant volcanic pinnacle. It is shaped somewhat like a 19th century Clipper Ship rising about 1,800 feet above the four-corners New Mexican plain. It's elevation is 7,178 feet above sea level. It lies about 13 miles southwest of the town of Shiprock, New Mexico, and 6 miles west of Highway 66.

The pinnacle was called the Needle by Captain J.F. McComb in 1860. Apparently the name Shiprock came into use in the 1870s as indicated by the U.S., Geological Survey Maps. The Anglo-Americans legend is that while they were in the area they noticed the similarity between the rock and the 19th century Clipper sailing ship of the time, giving it the name "Shiprock". It was October of 1939 that the sheer sided walls of Shiprock were first climbed by climbers from the Sierra Club of California. However Navajo religious beliefs have since prohibited the climbing of their sacred Shiprock.

The following Navajo legend illustrates one of the reasons climbing Shiprock (Tsé Bit' A'í) has become unacceptable to the Navajo (Diné) nation: “A long time ago the Diné were hard pressed by their enemies. One night their medicine men prayed for their deliverance, having their prayers heard by the Gods. They caused the ground to rise, lifting the Diné, and moved the ground like a great wave into the east away from their enemies. It settled where Shiprock Peak now stands. These Navajos then lived on the top of this new mountain, only coming down to plant their fields and to get water.”

“For some time all went well. Then one day during a storm, and while the men were working in the fields, the trail up the rock was split off by lightning and only a sheer cliff was left. The women, children, and old men on the top slowly starved to death, leaving their bodies to settle there.”

Therefore the Navajos prohibit any one from climbing Shiprock Peak for fear of stirring up the ch’iidii, (spirits of the dead).

These photos were taken on two different days. Some were taken at sunrise and others were taken at sunset. The shots with the sun shining directly on the pinnacles, including the sample on this page, were taken at Sunrise in July 2007.

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