Tag Archive: new mexico

Spanish Mission San Xavier del Bac – Tucson, Arizona

May 9, 2021 0 Comments

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One of the distinguishing cultural and architectural aspects of the American Southwest are historic remnants of Catholic missions that were established by the Empire of Spain in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The goal unlike the conquest of Mexico and South America for gold and riches, was to save the souls of native american indians the Spanish saw as pagans.

The Spanish Catholic Mission San Xavier del Bac was founded ten miles south of modern day Tucson, Arizona. It was founded in 1692 by Father Eusebio Kino, who also started the Tumacacori Spanish Mission just to the south near the border with Mexico. During his life, Eusebio established more than 24 missions, and country chapels in Pimería Alta (Sonora) and Baja California.

This mission was named after Francis Xavier, a Christian missionary and a founder of the Jesuit Order. The current church was completed in 1797, after the previous structure was destroyed by the Apaches. Its primary mission was the conversion of the local Pima Indians, and more specifically the Tohono O’odham band.

The church employees white stucco and a ornate Moorish-inspired architectural design.

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Shiprock Black and White – Farmington – New Mexico

May 9, 2021 0 Comments

Shiprock Black and White - Farmington - New Mexico

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Shiprock is a volcanic monadnock that rises 1,583 feet above the desert landscape of the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, New Mexico and is 7,177 feet above sea level. Multiple volcanic dikes radiate from it, including one pictured in the lower left of the image. The formation figures prominently in the religion, myth and traditions of the Navajo, and stood at the geographic and cultural center of the Ancient Puebloans of the Colorado Plateau, also known as the Anasazi. Three major Anasazi sites, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Aztec Ruins National Monument reside less than a hundred miles from the volcanic plug

Shiprock is made of volcanic breccia and dikes of igneous rock. It is what remains of the upper core of a volcano that formed 27 million years ago.

The name of the formation derives from an anglicized perspective of what the rock looks like, in this case a 19th-century clipper ship. The Navajo have a different name, Tsé Bitʼaʼí, which means winged rock, and comes from the legend of a great bird.

Navajo Tourism – Shiprock
New Mexico Department of Geology – Shiprock

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Tumacacori Spanish Mission Church – Tubac, Arizona

May 9, 2021 0 Comments

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One of the distinguishing cultural and architectural aspects of the American Southwest are historic remnants of Catholic missions that were established by the Empire of Spain in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The goal unlike the conquest of Mexico and South America for gold and riches, was to save the souls of native american indians the Spanish saw as pagans.

One of those missions was the Tumacacori Spanish Mission Church is located outside of Tubac, Arizona. The mission dates back to as early as 1691 (though the present building dates back only to 1753), and was founded by the Jesuit priest Father Eusebio Francisco Kino of the Franciscan order. During his life, Eusebio established more than 24 missions, and country chapels in Pimería Alta (Sonora) and Baja California. The name of the current Church translates as “The Mission of Saint Joseph of the Rocky Flat Place”. The building is considered of Spanish Colonial architectural design and is similar in nature to other Spanish mission churches found in California and New Mexico. The primary mission of the church was the conversion of the local Pima Indians, and more specifically the Tohono O’odham band.

The Franciscans are a monastic Christian religious order within the Catholic Church, that was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1209.

Another Spanish mission founded by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, also exists up the road near Tucson, Arizona. It is known as San Xavier del Bac.

National Park Service – San José de Tumacácori
Adventurous Way – Tumacácori National Historical Park

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