4 Corners Trip 2023

I think this is my favorite photo from our time spent at the Four Corners. This is the famous Ship Rock. It is amazing how well you can see this rock from miles and miles away.

Ship Rock was originally called Tsé Bitʼaʼí in the Navajo language. Translated into English, that means “rock with wings” or simply “winged rock.” In Navajo Indian mythology, the rock was thought of as a giant bird that carried the Navajo from the cold northlands to the Four Corners region.

In the 1860s, the rock formation was discovered by explorer Captain J. F. McComb, who referred to it as “The Needles”. That name did not stick. When the rock formation was drawn on a map, it resembled the appearance of a clipper ship, and has therefore been known as “Ship Rock” ever since.

Because the rock is considered to be sacred to the Navajo people, it is illegal to climb. That’s okay. I wasn’t really planning to climb it, anyway.