Beginning with Spider Grandmother creating the world and Eagle flying up to the fourth world, the film traces the Hopi ways. The commitment to raise corn without irrigation shows the industriousness of the people. Corn has been the mainstay of the Hopi for 1000 years, and the film emphasizes how the corn plant represents the life cycle of the people. They are “rooted” to their fields.

A young woman is seen in the female corn plants. The ability to give life is represented in the Hopi wedding, as corn tassels and colors of corn adorn the bride. The ears the corn plant are the children. They are given a taste as a 21-day-old infant, to infuse into them the life of corn. The children listen and learn the songs that are sung in the fields as the corn is tended to in the same way a child is. They learn through cooperation without submission. They learn they are a part of the cycle. And songs are sung to bring the rain.

Kachinas become clouds to bring the life-giving rain. Kachina dances inspire life. The presence of clowns bring a smile to people, allowing them to feel the good thoughts, prayers, wishes and feelings that control the balance of the world they live in. Where ever there is mist, steam, moisture, or breath there is life and the Kachinas are present.

The women grind the corn. They keep the seeds. They create pottery to hold the corn. They are the givers and keepers of life.

While it can be understood why the rifts and tensions felt by the Hopi were intentionally left out, it does us a disservice to ignore them completely. At times it seems as if too much footage was presented to the editor as much of the film is filled with scenes of historic pictures covered by music. Scriptwriter Mollie Gregory tells a good story, but I feel it could have been told more succinctly.

Despite the above shortcomings, “Hopi Songs of the Fourth World” is an inspiring look at life being lived in harmony with the earth, the sky, and the spirit world. This film shows us the people who have survived for over 1000 years, retaining their culture and their far-reaching vision. All in all, an enjoyable and interesting look at the Hopi.

For those familiar with the Grand Canyon and the area in question, you will notice a huge improvement in the congestion around Mather Point. I have been up there on days when vehicles were parked on both sides of the road for more than a mile west of Mather. The plan, when complete in December, will provide parking for more than 600 vehicles and commercial tour buses.

Sometime between 1,050 and 1,100 a.d., Sunset Crater experienced a series of eruptions—the only eruptions in the Southwest undoubtedly witnessed by local peoples. This brought new life back to the dormant San Francisco Volcanic Field. Spewing ash over 64,000 acres, with an ash cloud 2.5 miles high this eruption would have been fantastic to view. All plants within a 5 mile radius were obliterated. Fire shot out of the vent 850 feet into the sky, visible from many miles away. Forest fires raged, and ash and flying cinders darkened the daylight sky. Fire bombs and earthquakes rumbled. This was the last eruption in the San Francisco Volcanic Field.

Visible from the Sunset Crater lava flow are the San Francisco Peaks, named in 1629 by Franciscan missionaries in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. This was more than 200 years before the city in California was given it’s name. One legend has it that John Wesley Powell named the cinder cone Sunset Crater Volcano because the colorful cinders on it’s rim of red and yellow echo the sunsets of the Southwest.

In 1929, during the filming of the movie “Avalanche”, producers wanted to create landslide and planned to dynamite Sunset Crater. Locals were outraged and lobbied for its protection. Thus, Sunset Crater National Monument was established on May 26, 1930 by President Herbert Hoover. “Volcano” was added to the name in 1990. Today 3040 acres are protected by the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.

In preparation for the first exploration of the moon by astronauts in the 1960′s, men and lunar rovers trained in the cinder fields around Sunset Crater. Due to massive erosion that was damaging the cinder cone, hiking is no longer allowed to the top of Sunset Crater.

Geologists are fairly certain of another eruption in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, and suspect it will occur on it’s eastern edge, the youngest area of the field. While no date can be predicted, it should be soon; at least in geologic time.

A visit to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is a great experience for all. And just down the road is Wupatki National Monument, a wonderful Sinagua ruin. Don’t miss these National Monuments on your trip to the Southwest!

Visit this National Monument’s National Park Service website.

Photo courtesy of NPS.

The Claron formation is composed of siltstone, mudstone, and limestone that were deposited during the late Paleocene and early Eocene. It is primarily limestone, with smaller amounts of mudstone and pockets of conglomerate. Southwestern Utah was covered at that time by an extensive lake system. This system was fed, in early times, from the north and northwest, and these streams and rivers deposited conglomerate found today. Around 50 million years ago, the basin covered by this lake system began to fill with fine sediment. Eventually, the entire area was covered in limy mud.

The deposition of sediment is seen clearly in the hoodoos. The lacustrine (lake) deposits exhibit times where more limy sediment is interrupted by the softer, less erosion-resistant mudstone and siltstone. Very clear levels of thicker limestone deposits are seen in the level height of hoodoos throughout the amphitheater. Where the deeper deposits of limestone exist, hundreds of hoodoos of that height are seen. Lower in the amphitheater, more exposed to the erosional forces, yet another level of hoodoos live. The erosion resistant limestone protects the softer material below from erosion. Sandstone is not very prominent in the stratigraphy, but does exist, and it erodes at a rate between the easily erodable mudstones and siltstones, and the more resistant limestone. These varying erosional rates account for the formation of the incredible hoodoos on this beautiful escarpment.

View pictures of my hike into Bryce Canyon!