{"id":21858,"date":"2025-06-12T18:36:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T18:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/solstice-marker-event-set-at-salmon-ruins\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:09:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:09:35","slug":"solstice-marker-event-set-at-salmon-ruins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/solstice-marker-event-set-at-salmon-ruins\/","title":{"rendered":"Solstice Marker event set at Salmon Ruins"},"content":{"rendered":"
Event will showcase ancient solar alignments and sky watching June 18 and 20<\/div>\n

\"Summer
Summer solstice alignment at Salmon Ruins (Courtesy Salmon Ruins Museum)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each year around the summer solstice, visitors gather at Salmon Ruins for a unique opportunity to witness ancient sky watching in action. Hosted by the museum and its longtime community partners, the event offers a window into the astronomy-based traditions of the region\u2019s early inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Long before calendars and clocks, ancient peoples of the Four Corners used the sky to mark time. One of those markers still functions today in a quiet room at Salmon Ruins.<\/p>\n

In Room 82, a beam of sunlight enters through a window each summer solstice and lands precisely on a designated spot, confirming the changing of the seasons. The alignment continues to fascinate archaeologists, educators, and visitors alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil the solstice marker at Fajada Butte was discovered in 1979, people all around the world did not know that Native Americans understood or were following and paying attention to things like the solstice and the equinoxes,\u201d said Tori Myers, executive director of Salmon Ruins Museum. \u201cThat was a revolutionary discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
A presenter discusses Fajada Butte at the summer solstice event at Salmon Ruins, in 2019. The butte, located in Chaco Canyon, is home to a solstice marker discovered in 1979. (Courtesy Salmon Ruins Museum)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since then, similar discoveries across North America have revealed just how widespread ancient astronomical knowledge truly was.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve found many locations \u2013 not just in the Southwest but across North America \u2013 that show many different tribal groups were very interested in astronomy, and we\u2019re paying attention to it just as people all around the world were doing,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n

For early agricultural societies, such observations were important. \u201cThe solstice is part of establishing a reliable and repeating yearly calendar,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce people began farming and experimenting with plants to develop farming methods, the use of the calendar became essential for their success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salmon Ruins has hosted public solstice events for at least a decade \u2013 some years drawing just a few curious early risers, other years closer to 20. The simplicity of the marker, Myers said, helps visitors connect ancient practices to the present.<\/p>\n

\"A
A series of short presentations will begin at 6 p.m., exploring solar alignments at Chaco Canyon and Salmon Ruins. (Courtesy Salmon Ruins Museum)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt’s a very visible way to see what it looks like,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of times people feel like they don’t really understand what it would look like if a prehistoric culture was paying attention to these important dates. The way the room in our structure was set up to capture that moment of the solstice makes it very easy for people to relate to it and understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s solstice programming is supported through a collaboration with the San Juan County Historical Society, a relationship that dates back to when the county purchased the property. The society helped establish the museum\u2019s nonprofit arm and has remained a partner in public outreach and education ever since.<\/p>\n

The museum also welcomes volunteers and partners with local programs such as San Juan College\u2019s high school-college initiative and the county\u2019s summer intern program.<\/p>\n

This year, the museum and historical society are expanding the celebration with a special evening program on Wednesday, June 18, focused on archaeoastronomy and cultural solstice observances.<\/p>\n

The event begins at 4:30 p.m. with wine and snacks for sale, solstice-themed music by Charlie Stacey, and a series of short presentations at 6 p.m. exploring solar alignments at Chaco Canyon and sites like Salmon Ruins. A guided site tour will follow at 7 p.m., featuring a flashlight demonstration replicating the solstice alignment in Room 82.<\/p>\n

Then, at 7 a.m. on Friday, June 20, the museum will host its annual Summer Solstice Experience, where attendees can witness the real solar alignment in action. There is no charge for the event, but donations and gift shop purchases are encouraged to support museum programming.<\/p>\n

\"Attendees
Attendees can witness the solar alignment at 7 a.m. Friday, June 20. (Courtesy Salmon Ruins Museum)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both events are wheelchair accessible, with designated lower-ground parking available for ease of access. The evening program will be held in the amphitheater near the site.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of fun and very interesting,\u201d Myers said. \u201cIf you haven\u2019t ever seen it and you\u2019re curious, then the only way to solve that is to attend.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, visit https:\/\/www.salmonruins.com\/home.html<\/a>, or contact the museum at (505) 632-2013.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

will showcase ancient solar alignments and sky watching June 18 and 20 Summer solstice alignment at Salmon Ruins (Courtesy Salmon Ruins Museum)cca Each year around the summer solstice, visitors gather at Salmon Ruins for a unique opportunity to witness ancient sky watching in action. Hosted by the museum and its longtime community partners, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-21858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77487,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21858\/revisions\/77487"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21858"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=21858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}