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The Northwest Region, also known as Indian Country, is home to a significant portion of America's largest Indian reservation, the Navajo Nation, as well as the pueblos of Zuni, Acoma and Laguna. The region hosts the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial held yearly in the city of Gallup. This event draws visitors as well as New Mexico locals for traditional dances, Indian arts and foods, and much more. In addition to annual events like this one and the Northern Navajo Nation Fair, there are many year-round opportunities to experience Native American culture and history in the region. Excursions can include visits to pueblos such as Sky City, Acoma's more than 300-foot high mesatop pueblo, as well as exploration of ruins left the Ancestral Pueblo people, forebears of contemporary Pueblo Indians. Chaco Culture National Historical Park, along with the Aztec and Salmon ruins, date from the 11th and 12th centuries and give visitors a look at distinctive prehistoric architecture, including historical examples of extremely advanced astronomy, engineering and city planning.

Modern-day tourism increased with the 1930s construction of Route 66, the first major multistate highway, but travelers have come through this region for hundreds of years. Carved into the base of Inscription Rock, part of El Morro National Monument, are petroglyphs of the Ancestral Puebloans, who lived on the mesatop more than 700 years ago, and the signatures and drawings of the Spanish conquistadors as well as westbound American pioneers.

Today's travelers can explore the area surrounding El Morro National Monument and other natural wonders in the region like the Bandera Crater and Ice Caves and two badlands areas: El Malpais Nationalo Monument, with its lava flows and towering sandstone arches, and the Bisti Badlands. For extended outdoor exploration, Mount Taylor, an 11,000-foot peak near the city of Grants, is a haven for hikers and campers. Fishermen and boating enthusiasts also flock to Navajo Lake State Park and the adjacent Quality Waters section of the San Juan River, considered the best rainbow trout fishing area in the country.

Navajo Lake's nearby major cities include Aztec, Farmington and Bloomfield. This part of the region is also home to Ship Rock Peak, a volcanic formation sacred to the Navajo people, who refer to it as tse bida' hi, "rock with wings." Within 40 miles of Ship Rock Peak is the Four Corners Monument, the only site in the country where four states - New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado - converge at the same place.