#navajo-nation

#navajo-nation

AMC Dark Winds, based on the Leaphorn and Chee novels by Tony Hillerman, is the 1970s-set story of Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), a Navajo Nation police officer, and his sidekicks Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon.) Over the first three seasons, we've seen them face off against crooked mining magnates, zealous cults, and border patrol conspiracies. (You can catch up on the first three seasons on Netflix.)

Known as Tse Bitai to the Diné (Navajo) people, or "winged rock," Ship Rock in New Mexico is an otherworldly geological formation rising out of the desert that can be seen for miles around. The result of a massive volcanic eruption, the unique outcrop consists of a monolithic stack and at least six radiating, serpentine ridges of long-cooled lava. Originally, Ship Rock was likely a few thousand feet below the ground, but gradual erosion over tens of millions of years has revealed its jagged shape.