| Grand Falls, or Chocolate Falls. On The Navajo Nation In Northern Arizona. Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. |
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| Grand Falls, or Chocolate Falls. On The Navajo Nation In Northern Arizona. Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. |
Grand Falls, or Chocolate Falls. On The Navajo Nation In Northern Arizona.
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Grand Falls is a natural waterfall system located northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona in the Painted Desert upon the Navajo Nation. Grand Falls is also known as either "The Chocolate Falls," or "The Chocolate Niagara;" because of its muddy water during the months of March, & April; and again sometimes in July, & August. In addition to their muddy water, they are known for the beautiful rainbows created by the impact and spray of water at the falls. The falls are fed by the snow melt and rain from the White Mountains and flows into the Little Colorado river. For this reason; that is why there are only specific times of year that the waterfalls are actually flowing. The best time to see the falls are during March and April. This is due to the snow melt from earlier in the year. There is also a short period in the summer months of July, or August that you can see the falls due to the monsoon season; but the window is short and is highly dependent upon the weather patterns of that year. Grand Falls was formed when lava from the nearby Merriam Crater flowed into the Little Colorado River creating a lava dam. The river was forced to reroute itself around the dam and Grand Falls formed where the river rejoins its original course. They are about 181 feet high which makes them higher than Niagara Falls! These falls are not known to exist by most of the residents of Arizona; even though they are higher than Niagara Falls! These falls are not easy to get to, but there are roads right up to the falls. The roads are rough and we highly recommend that you only visit there by driving a high clearance four wheel drive vehicle. Even though we recommend using a high clearance 4 X 4 to drive the trails, some people have driven the roads with low clearance 2 wheel drive vehicles. From Flagstaff allow about 2.5 hours of driving time. Normally if you are on Navajo land a hiking or road use permit is required. But according to the Leupp�Chapter Navajo Nation Chapter and home to The Grand Falls; a permit is not required to visit Grand Falls. But, leaving the roads or trails is against Navajo Law. There are arbor shades available along the rim trail above the falls, which is about one-half mile long and easy to walk. You can also hike down a trail � past several dinosaur tracks left in the sandstone millions of years ago, to get to the bottom of the falls, where the temperature is cooler.
Directions to Grand Falls Arizona:
Grand Falls can also be accessed from Indian Road 70 (instead of 6910). This road is located 15.0 miles along Leupp Rd (5.3 miles before Road 6910). Follow Road 70 8.4 miles to the same turnoff on the left before the Little Colorado River (Roads 6910 and 70 join together just before the turnoff). We recommend driving along Road 6910 instead of Road 70. Both roads are very rough going and we recommend a high clearance 4x4 to drive them. But Road 6910 is much easier going and faster than Road 70. Google Earth places the center of the falls at 35� 25' 42.09" N and 111� 12' 04.68" W. Or 35.42818 -111.201474. The elevation is 4,533 feet.
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| Grand Falls, or Chocolate Falls. On The Navajo Nation In Northern Arizona. | Grand Falls, or Chocolate Falls. On The Navajo Nation In Northern Arizona. |
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