Walhalla Plateau
The third phase of the Grand Canyon project was
carried out in 1969 and 1970 on the high, forested Walhalla Plateau north of the Grand
Canyon (map). The Walhalla
"Glades" are a peninsula of land that extends southward from the main portion of
the Walhalla Plateau, to which they are joined by a narrow bridge of land. Surrounded on
three sides by the canyons of drainages tributary to the Grand Canyon—Clear Creek,
Unkar Creek, Lava Creek, and others—the Glades must have been served by many access
routes from the canyon bottom. Surveys were conducted that crosscut all the vegetation
zones of the Glades and sampled several locations outside the immediate study area. Of the
94 sites recorded, 25 were chosen for testing or complete excavation on the basis of date,
location, and configuration. The results of this work revealed a use of the Walhalla
Plateau by hunting bands between about 100 B.C. and A.D. 500, separated by an apparent
hiatus from a sequence of settlement by farming people between about A.D. 1050 and 1150.
