Defiance Plateau

Defiance Plateau
Region
Defiance Plateau, south of Chinle Valley, and east-northeast of Painted Desert – (light tan & arc-shaped) (Puerco River & valley, from New Mexico attached at southeast of desert) (see 3rd, watershed map)
Defiance Plateau Defiance Plateau (at Sawmill, AZ) of Arizona and New Mexico
Coordinates: 35°53′48″N 109°09′31″W / 35.89667°N 109.15861°W / 35.89667; -109.15861
Country	United States
States	Arizona  New Mexico
Regions	Painted Desert, (southeast) – Colorado Plateau & Navajo Nation
Counties	Apache

The Defiance Plateau, part of the geologic Defiance Uplift, is an approximately 75-mile (121 km) long,^[1] mostly north-trending plateau of Apache County, Arizona, with its east and southeast perimeter, as parts of San Juan and McKinley Counties, New Mexico.

The west and southwest of the plateau region borders the east, southeast of the Painted Desert, where the Puerco River enters the desert, flowing southwest from New Mexico then meeting the Little Colorado River which flows northwest through the Painted Desert – (light tan & arc-shaped), to the Colorado River (at the northeast of the Grand Canyon). The Puerco River is the plateau's border on the south and southeast; at the northwest, the Black Mesa is the northwest border, and the north of the Defiance Plateau is bounded by the south of the Chinle Valley, where Chinle Creek flows north to meet the San Juan River in southeast Utah.

The north terminus region of the Defiance Plateau contains three canyons, with watercourses flowing due-west, as headwaters of Chinle Creek. The canyons are the Canyon de Chelly National Monument; two other canyons are southwest, part of the five canyon system, Little White House and Three Turkey Canyons.

The Defiance Plateau is part of the Navajo Nation. At the plateau's southeast, on Black Creek lies the site of Window Rock, Arizona, the Navajo Nation capitol.

The highpoint of the plateau is Fluted Rock, southwest of Sawmill, Arizona, 8,304 feet (2,531 m).^[2]