CHIMNEY ROCK
-- MAJOR LUNAR STANDSTILL --
1. What Happens During The Major Standstill Of The Moon?
The Moon, like the Sun, rises at different places on the horizon throughout the year. Careful observation will demonstrate that these times and places of moonrise recur at regular, predictable intervals. The interval between full moonrises, of course, we generically call a month. The Moon also moves to a longer cycle, lasting 18.61 years. This grand sweep travels the eastern horizon from south to north every month. The most northerly of these monthly moonrises are the ones that allow the 18.61 year standstill cycle to be perceived by naked eye astronomers. Over 9.3 years these northerly moonrises shift from rising south of the summer solstice sunrise location to north of the summer solstice sunrise location. Each end of this 18.61-year journey is called a standstill.
The majestic natural stone pillars of the Chimney Rock formation have a unique connection to the major standstill of the Moon. Seen from the Chacoan Great House Pueblo, the stone towers are slightly out of line with each other, framing a narrow window of sky between them. Then at sunset near the day of the Winter Solstice during the major standstill, the full Moon rises exactly between the stone pillars, caught in this thin window of sky, and is visible only from this one vantage point. The last such standstill moonrise occurred in 1988. The next cycle started in December of 2004.
The most impressive of the 200-plus structures at Chimney Rock is the Great House Pueblo. This edifice was built by people of the Chaco (Ancient Puebloan) culture, who occupied Chimney Rock between about AD 1050 and 1125. They joined earlier settlers at the site, and constructed this Pueblo-style building beginning in AD 1076. Another phase of Pueblo construction seems to have happened in AD 1093-1094. Both these dates, 1076 and 1093-94, fall into a narrow window of time: the regular cycle of the major standstill of the moon.
In AD 1076, when the Great House Pueblo was built, the moon was rising between the rock towers. And, in AD 1093-94, when the Great House Pueblo was expanded, the Moon was again rising between the rock towers. This may be nothing more than coincidence. However, researchers in archaeoastronomy, the study of how ancient people related their lives and world to the sky, see more possibilities. Dr. McKim Malville, who demonstrated the lunar standstill alignment in 1988, proposes that Chimney Rock's people were more than just aware of these events- he suggests that they celebrated them, in part by constructing the Great House Pueblo to mark and revere the beautiful and rare lunar events captured- or protected- by Chimney Rock's twin monoliths.
The alignment between the Great House Pueblo and the Chimney Rock pillars and the Moon is real. It has been calculated, surveyed, and confirmed - and it has been photographed. The question that remains unanswered is its cultural and spiritual importance to the Chimney Rock people. Despite the impressive record of archaeological research, we face a mystery that may never be solved. The Ancestral Puebloan culture had no written language and left no clear record of their names, thoughts, and beliefs. Was the lunar standstill an event of spiritual awe and wonder to them, or just another pretty but meaningless happening in the sky?
Next Lunar Standstill Article
2. How Could The Great House Capture The Moon And The Stars?
3. What Will The Moon Do At Chimney Rock In 2004 - 2008?
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Hours of Operation: In-Season May 15 - September 30, Daily 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Guided Walking Tour Schedule: 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m.
Location: 3 miles South of Hwy 160 on Hwy 151 (map)
Mailing Address: Chimney Rock Interpretive Program, P.O. Box 1662, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147
Phone: (970)883-5359 Visitor's Cabin In-season, (970)731-7133 Leave Message Off-season
E-mail: chimneyrock@chimneyrockco.org
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