Talk:Monument Valley

2005 TV/Film Discussion
Perhaps a special sub-section noting the Valley's appearance in film/TV would be appropriate. --Jeremy Butler 12:27, 17 October 2005 (UTC)


 * I agree, suggested section heading "Film/TV"? I found this list already http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/rothko/140/mvalley.htmlHans Erren
 * I have made it so--as a subsection. I'd suggest adding more movies from the above list, but I'd limit the selection to movies in which the Valley is especially prominent. It'd be good to have a line or two describing the movie's use of the Valley. --Jeremy Butler 12:21, 18 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Hu 83.110.119.13 (talk) 17:12, 29 February 2024 (UTC)

Jeremy, John Fords point is the flat area with the shops where the Dineh rents his horse for a picture, not the rock outcrop on my photograph, that would be "John Wayne's point". http://home.casema.nl/errenwijlens/family/hans_monumentvalley.jpg Hans Erren


 * Very interesting. I have a photo my mother took from John Ford's Point, but I (mis)understood it to be of the Point not from it. Good to get that clarified.  --Jeremy Butler 12:54, 16 October 2005 (UTC)


 * I can't find points with either name on the USGS geodetic map. Can someone give me a clue where it is, and I'll search in more detail. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 23:39, 14 October 2005 (UTC)


 * "John Wayne's point" is my name-invention for the bluff where photographers usually put a horse with an indian, it is part of Elephant Butte eg http://emi-cfd-reseau.org/res2004/technique/navajos/eric/navajos3.html
 * On the local map near the visitor center "John Fords point" is the position of the camera, not the position of the indian.
 * http://home.casema.nl/errenwijlens/family/MonVal_JFpt.gif
 * (map modified from http://www.hanksville.org/voyage/defs/monval/MonVal.gif) Hans Erren


 * here is another map http://www.roadhaus.com/images/Gallery/Monument%20Valley/images/Monument%20Valley%201b.jpg and a detailed aerial photograph http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=13&Z=12&X=363&Y=2556&W=3

Based on these shots, I've fairly certain that the movie "Wild Wild West" featured shots of Monument Valley. Jon 15:24, 2 June 2006 (UTC)


 * See the IMDb list that I recently added to External Links. WWW is there.  &mdash;Tamfang 06:01, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

Errors
The nearest indian village to Monument Valley is Oljato, 10 miles around Oljato mesa, though a few Navajos rent of lease land from Goulding's. Goulding's is run by whites, the Lafonts. There is no village of Goulding. Goulding's is the local Hotel, owned by RGJ corporation. They are on private land. Not all of the land is Navajo Reservation. I've lived 10 miles from MV all my life. Martinphi 05:02, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

Inclusion of Gouldings in this article
Gouldings is part of the modern history of MV and should not be ignored. It is hardly "advertising" in the conventional sense, given its place in the movie history of MV and the fact that a museum exists there today. Viva-Verdi 16:23, 16 June 2007 (UTC)


 * That's great. Goulding's should be included, but only within the context of history, along with the Wetherills, Virginia and Ed Smith of Oljato Trading Post, The Mitchell and Merrick story, the Adventist Mission and Hospital, the Episcopal Mission and Father Liebler's St. Mary's of the Moonlight church, Uranium mining and Moonlight mine and the sicknesses it caused, Hoskinini and many other things as well.  But if we keep it in the Tourism section, we need to include such things as the Bed & Breakfasts (some also historic such as Valley of the Gods B&B and FireTree B&B), the lodgings in Kayenta and Mexican hat (some also historic such as the Wetherill Inn in Kayenta), the campgrounds available, etc.  We'd also need to include the Navajo establishments which sell jewelry, the Oljato Trading Post, horseback ride establishments, and day trip establishments. Including Goulding's in the Tourism section is advertising for a single institution. I'll remove the passage here till we can come to a conclusion on this.  Martinphi  (Talk Ψ Contribs) 21:22, 16 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Goulding's Lodge, the original trading post established in 1923 and which was featured in several films made by John Ford in the Valley, has been expanded but a museum, housed in the original trading post building where trader Harry Goulding and his wife "Mike" lived, is open to the public and contains much movie memorabilia.

Map would be helpful
A map that would place the valley contextually in the States of Utah and Arizona, perhaps with the principal road travel routes to the valley entrance(s) from several points of the compass, would be most helpful. I have added a map request tag. See, for example, the two maps at the head of Capitol Reef National Park, another geographical resource of interesting topography on the Colorado Plateau for what I'm thinking of. N2e (talk) 12:26, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Along with a map, it would be nice to have a statement to say what Monument Valley actually is (imagine if there were no pictures and you didn't know)!

How about an introductory statement like:

"Monument Valley is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast and iconic sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1000 ft above the valley floor." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.208.101.164 (talk) 12:30, 17 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Looks good, so I added it. jSarek (talk) 23:17, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Let's keep the pop trivia to a minimum please!!
So far on this page, there have been several posts about its appearance in films and other media, and of course the tourist industry...but absolutely nothing regarding this valley and how incredible landscape was formed save a few ambiguous mentions about erosion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.155.77.36 (talk) 18:46, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

I would argue that both should be included. As I have always wondered where and what this place was, having seen it so many cameos and and shots in pop culture, and came to this page looking for references to both, not one or the other. How was this place made? And where does it show up in all of media? Wikipedia is an encompassing encyclopedia, yes? Therefore, I would purpose that extensive mentions to pop culture and a well laid out article on his geology and creation are both worthy of note in the article. Just my two cents though. :) SageSolomon (talk) 23:15, 17 January 2020 (UTC)

Wildlife
What animals live in Monument Valley?

If there are any animals, can we add in a wildlife section? Austin012599 (talk) 03:37, 22 September 2017 (UTC)

Sacred?
From the lede: ''The valley is considered sacred by the Navajo Nation. . .'' This is the only statement in the article about this.

How so? Does it figure in their creation stories? Are ancestors buried there? Is it held to be a land of prophets, miracles, or sacred visions? Does it figure in spiritual rituals? Is it really sacred to the Navajo, or did some white guy writing the article just assume that it is?

Seems like a section explaining how/why the Navajo hold this area to be sacred is in order.