The Navajo name for the peak, Tsé Bitʼaʼí,
"rock with wings" or "winged rock", refers to the
legend of the great bird that brought the Navajo from the north to their
present lands. The name Shiprock or Shiprock
Peak or Ship Rock derives from the peak's resemblance to an enormous
19th-century clipper ship. Americans first called the peak "The Needle",
a name given to the topmost pinnacle by Captain J. F. McComb in 1860.
United States Geological Survey maps indicate that the name "Ship Rock"
dates from the 1870s. The Shiprock Pinnacle is also an iconic view where
many movies have been made.
Learn more at Discover Navajo
Coded by Ophie Burkholder