Montezuma Creek

Elevation: 4,300 feet (1,311 meters)

Aneth, or "Just like the devil!" The Navajo people used that phrase to describe the business practices of the community's first white trader. The name stuck.

The Aneth Oil Field is still one of the major producing fields in the western U.S. Geology in this area is remarkably exposed, revealing colors that vary from mauve and purple to beige and gray. You may see traditional Navajo hogans (ho'gone) or shade houses--a pole structure used as a work or play area during the hot weather.

Aneth is a Navajo Chapter Headquarters. Chapters are equivalent to city or county government. Land, although owned collectively, is considered private.

Day tours include Hovenweep and Natural Bridges, in addition to Aztec National Monuments: Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and Mesa Verde National Park. Gasoline, sundries, and food available. No lodging.

Economic Information

Located on the Navajo Reservation, Montezuma Creek is fifteen miles west of Bluff on Utah 262 at an elevation of 4300 feet.

The area was annexed to the Navajo Reservation in the 1950s in exchange for Tribal land where Page, Arizona is now located and land that would ultimately be covered by Lake Powell. Oil was discovered near the community in the 1950s, and today the nearby Aneth Oil Field is still producing. Hovenweep National Monument is located twenty miles northeast of Montezuma Creek. The community boasts a swimming pool and lighted sports field. Montezuma Creek provides volunteer fire protection, and estimated population in 2000 was 1430.

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