Betatakin is built on the sloping floor of a great cave, carved by stream meander and wind erosion in the side of a soft, red, sandstone cliff which forms the sheer and vertical 500-foot north wall of a picturesque and beautiful canyon. The cave roof projects far out over the village. Sand storms had piled among the central rooms an accumulation in which oaks 4 inches in diameter and varied shrubbery had taken root. [Illustration: _A portion of Betatakin Ruin_] In the canyon fronting Betatakin are tall, slender quaking aspen; boxelder, Douglas-fir, and pinyon deck the talus slopes; and juniper and pinyon cap the bordering cliffs. Betatakin was discovered in 1909 by Byron Cummings and the late John Wetherill, and was excavated and stabilized in 1917 by Neil M. Judd, of the Smithsonian Institution. The pottery found in Betatakin and the other Segi cliff ruins is of exceptional quality, artistically painted, and includes both black-on-white ware and varieties of polychrome or “orangeware.” _KEET SEEL_ Keet Seel is the largest cliff ruin in Arizona and one of the last to be abandoned in the Segi Canyon region. It may be reached by horse or on foot from Betatakin by an 11-mile trail, which is primitive and crosses the canyon stream many times, making the trip on foot a difficult one. Horses may be obtained from the nearby Navajos through the superintendent of the monument. One full day is required for the round trip. Keet Seel was discovered in 1893 by Richard Wetherill. It was partially excavated and stabilized in 1934, and today still gives the impression that it might have been abandoned only a few years ago. Actually, almost 700 years have passed since the Anasazi last lived in this cliff city. _INSCRIPTION HOUSE_ Inscription House lies almost 20 miles in an air line west of Betatakin, the headquarters area. This fine ruin, the smallest of the three (with approximately 75 rooms), was so named because of an inscription found scratched into the plastered wall of one of the rooms. Weather-beaten, little remains of the original inscription. It is generally believed to be of Spanish origin and to date from the 1660’s, but the exact wording has been variously reported. John Wetherill, from his second trip to Inscription House in 1909, remembered the inscription thus: C H O S 1661 A d n with more letters which were illegible. [Illustration: _Keet Seel Ruin_] _THE MONUMENT_ Navajo National Monument was established by Presidential proclamation on March 20, 1909, and contains 360 acres of federally owned land. It is completely surrounded by the Navajo Indian Reservation and lies on the edge of a “roadless area” nearly 100 miles from paved highways. _RELATED AREAS_