Geographic Reference

One of the largest islands off the coast of Japan, Okinawa is an island, a prefecture, and a city. The island was annexed by Japan in 1879 under the Meiji Government, and is currently one of Japan's most popular beach and surf destinations, laying is it does between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the the East China Sea to the east. Okinawa was also the location for one of the bloodiest battles in World War II, one that lasted 82 days and resulted in the deaths of 95,000 members of the Imperial Japanese Army and 12,510 American soldiers. During this battle a majority of the communications were handled by the Navajo Code talkers, a group of Navajo men recruited to use their language as a code during the war.

Ogden is a small city located in northern Utah near the Wasatch Mountains. The Great Salt Lake, located to the west, can be viewed from the city. The city is known mainly for its outdoor recreation and winter sports activities, with several national parks within driving distance. In 2002, the city hosted some of the Winter Olympic's ski events.

A state located at the margin between the Great Plains and what would become the Midwest region of the U.S., Nebraska was part of the territorial home- and rangeland for several indigenous groups, including the Omaha, the Pawnee, and the Sioux. Alternately claimed by the French and the Spanish, by the early eighteenth century, Nebraska was ceded by the French to the Spanish as part of the Louisiana Territory. By the early nineteenth century, the U.S. was pushing its western frontier beyond the Missouri River by establishing military forts in what would become known as the Nebraska Territory. In 1862, with the advent of the Homestead Act, the U.S. forced large numbers of Native Americans from their lands as the Act opened the territory to aggressive Euroamerican settlement with the offer of free land. By the late nineteenth century, because of its central location in the country, and because it was a prime location for both agriculture and cattle raising, Omaha, Nebraska, became the central hub for railroad transportation and shipping, the meatpacking industry, and other working class jobs, inspiring many African Americans, as well as other ethnic minorities, to migrate there in search for work at the turn of the twentieth century.

Today, the capital of Nebraska is Lincoln, which is also the location of the University of Nebraska. The largest city in the state remains Omaha, which holds the College World Series annually. Due to the vast treeless prairies, this state also experiences many tornadoes.

A small, mostly dry river that is located on the Navajo Reservation, in Apache County, Arizona. The Navajo name Nazlini means “Makes a Turn Flowing.” The name is shared by the Nazlini community, which is located about 30 miles south of the wash.

A Navajo Nation highway that runs from U.S. Highway 491, near Twin Lakes, NM, to Crownpoint, NM. From here the route extends until it intersects with Highway 57. At this point the route continues until it intersects with Highway 197 near the Empedrado Wilderness Study Area. This route runs through both McKinley and Sandoval Counties and is a secondary two-lane highway that is maintained by the Navajo Division of Transportation.

On current maps of the Navajo Reservation there is no mention of Navajo Route 8. However, Bureau of Indian Affairs documents mention the construction of a portion of this route. In 1958, the Department of the Interior provided funds for a contract to improve 13.8 miles of Navajo Route 8 between Chinle and Many Farms in northeastern Arizona. In 1965, the Department of the Interior set aside more funds to construct 8 more miles of Navajo Route 8 running between Ganado and Klagetoh in Apache County, Arizona. In addition, a brochure about the Hubbell Trading Post mentions this route as a way to get to this historic trading post. Based on this inform and after consulting contemporary maps, it appears that Navajo Route 8 covers about 39 miles between Round Rock and Klagetoh and is now a portion of U.S. Highway 191.

A Spanish term meaning “the bad country,” used by early Spanish settlers in the Southwest to describe regions that have a rough barren landscape covered in un-eroded lava flows, areas that are profoundly alkaline, and places that exhibit profound extremes in erosion patterns. New Mexico in particular has a number of exposed badlands with craggy black lava flows. The most notable malpais in the state is found in El Malpais National Monument, a federal monument situated in western New Mexico. This monument contains 133 square miles of lava flows and is home to a number of lava tube caves and volcanic cinder cones. Other lava well known lava flows in New Mexico are, the Carrizozo Malpais in south-central New Mexico and Jornada del Muerto Volcano lava field in central New Mexico.

Lava flows are formed when molten magma is expelled from a volcano’s magma chambers below the surface of the earth and is forcibly expelled from the volcano. Once magma reaches the earth’s surface, its name changes to lava. Lava is molten rock often composed of basalt, silica, potassium, and sodium. Malpais formations are created from a more viscous form of lava known by its Hawaiian name, a’a or aa. Once cool, this type of lava is identifiable by its sharp, craggy, and rocky surface.

El Malpais (meaning "The Badlands" in Spanish) is a large area covered in lava flow from the now-extinct volcanoes of the San Mateo and Zuni mountains, stretching across approximately 35 miles of terrain south of Grants, NM. The Spanish name refers to the rugged, rocky, harsh nature of this terrain of lava beds, tubes, and caves. The El Malpais National Monument and National Conservation Area are located in this region. According to the Navajo creation myth, the Twin War Gods slayed the monster Yé'iitsoh (Big God) on nearby Mount Taylor, and it was his blood, running down the mountain, that coagulated and solidified to form the black lava flows of El Malpais. Following the legend, the Navajo call the area "Where Big God's Blood Coagulated."

This road, along with Rt. 64, form what is known as the "Dinetah Scenic Road" through the Navajo Nation in Arizona. From this route drivers can access Canyon de Chelly, Window Rock, the Lukachukai and Chuska Mountains, Fort Defiance, and Navajo Lake.

Now known as Arizona Highway 160, Navajo Route 1 is also the portion of US Route 160 that runs through the Navajo Nation in Arizona between Tuba City and Kayenta. From this route, drivers can access Black Mesa, White Mesa, Rt. 264, Preston Mesa, Red Lake, the Navajo National Monument, and Tsegi Canyon.