Walnut Canyon National Monument is about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of downtown Flagstaff. The canyon floor is 350 feet below the rim. A 0.9-mile loop trail descends 185 feet into the canyon and passes 25 cliff dwelling rooms.
The Sinagua people lived here from about 1100 to 1250 AD. They built their homes under limestone ledges, using natural recesses in the cliff walls. A typical room might be the home of one family, about two meters high, six meters long and three meters deep. The Sinagua left more than 80 cliff dwellings, and why they left around 1250 is not certain.
President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the monument on November 30, 1915, to preserve the ancient cliff dwellings. More than 387 plant species grow here.