|
Hualapai
Nation City
Guide
The
Hualapai
Nation is
located
on reservation
lands that
abut the
western
end of the
Grand Canyon.
Established
in 1883,
the 1 million-acre
reservation
sits between
the Grand
Wash Cliffs
on the west,
Route 18
on the east
and Old
Route 66
on the south.
Hualapai
country
occupies
part of
three northern
Arizona
counties:
Coconino,
Yavapai
and Mohave.
Topography
ranges from
Ponderosa
forest and
grassland
to rugged
arroyos.
Hualapai
(pronounced
"WAH-lah-pie")
means "People
of the Tall
Pine." Related
linguistically
to the Yuman
people,
the Hualapai
were hunters
who originally
lived along
the Colorado
River near
the Cerbat
Mountains
and Sacramento
Valley.
The Hualapai
called their
part of
the Colorado
corridor
"Hakataya,"
or "the
backbone
of the river."
In the 1860s,
the Hualapai
fought a
series of
fierce battles
with troops
based at
Fort Mohave
before being
required
to settle
on reservation
lands.
Today,
the Hualapai
tribal capital
is located
in the town
of Peach
Springs,
50 miles
east of
Kingman.
The town's
recorded
history
goes all
the way
back to
1775 when
a gray-robed
friar named
Fransisco
Garces visited
the spot
and called
it Saint
Basil's
Wells. Next
came Lieutenant
"Ned" Beale's
famous camel-mounted
expedition
in 1858.
Beale, who
was trailblazing
railroad
routes along
the 35th
parallel,
called it
Indian Spring.
Following
Beale, Mormon
missionaries
entered
the area
and, according
to legend,
sowed the
peach trees
that the
town later
adopted
as part
of its name.
By 1883,
Peach Springs
was 10-saloon
Wild West
town, having
grown up
around a
water storage
tank built
for the
railroad
following
Beale's
route.
ATTRACTIONS
- Grand
Canyon
West.
The western
end of
the Canyon
is the
reservation's
main attraction.
Located
about
150 miles
west of
the South
Rim, the
area is
situated
in pristine
wilderness
and includes
some 108
miles
of scenic
frontage
along
the Colorado
River.
- Peach
Springs.
Like the
early
explorers,
you can
stop at
this historic
watering
hole by
following
Old Route
66 to
Peach
Springs
from either
Kingman
or Seligman
via Interstate
40. Peach
Springs
is about
a 2-hour
drive
from Flagstaff
(113 miles).
Grand
Canyon
West is
about
20 miles
north
of the
town.
|
