Visitors are mourning two culturally significant landmarks in northwestern New Mexico after powerful storms across the Southwest brought down the rock formations within weeks of one another.
Here's what to know
Poor road conditions had kept Kialo Winters, founder of Navajo Tours USA, from reaching the site for a couple of weeks. Winters discovered the shattered Alien Throne on Oct. 30 near the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness boundary, according to The Associated Press.
"It was surreal," Winters said. "I had to sort of just pause. A lot of things ran through my head."
In photographs of the fallen King of Wings, its large rock slab lay beside the clay mound that had supported it. Word of the collapse began spreading on social media in early October.
Natural forces governed the formations' history, from their creation to their eventual collapse.
The AP reported estimates that rainfall across Nevada and the Four Corners states exceeded 20 trillion gallons as tropical moisture entered the region in late October and early November.
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More background
Flooding destroyed homes and further eroded the landscape as rivers rose and water surged through normally dry washes in parts of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico, the AP reported. The storms arrived after an especially wet fall had already saturated the ground.
Damage costs could total several hundred million dollars.
On the Navajo Nation, unusable or washed-away dirt roads left Winters worried about relatives. Such road damage can cut off access to communities, while damaged homes can deprive residents of secure shelter, a basic public-health need.
For Winters and other members of Native communities in the area, the fallen formations also represent a loss beyond their striking appearance. For thousands of years, they served as waypoints along ancestral trade routes and became part of stories passed down through generations.
What can be done?
Winters urged visitors to let the sites "rest," asking that they avoid climbing on the remaining formations or taking pieces home, the AP reported.
Their legacies, he said, can continue through photographs, illustrations, and accounts of people's experiences there.
Photographs have also helped document the gradual weathering that preceded the collapses. Alan Studt, a visitor from Parma, Ohio, first explored the area in 2019 and returned in April during a 50-day road trip.
After reviewing his earlier photographs, Studt could see new holes in the throne and fractures at the base of the wing.
Communities across the storm-hit region still faced extensive damage to homes and roads. Meanwhile, floodwaters were receding, and cleanup had begun.
For Winters, the Alien Throne — known in his language as Tsé Bináká Níyol — matters far beyond its appeal to photographers.
"They are culturally relevant to our identity and our stories," he told the AP.
Where can I learn more?
Heavy rain and flash flooding have threatened communities as well as landmarks across the Southwest.
• Arizona flooding triggered three rescues within minutes, including a driver swept into a wash.
• Southern New Mexico and West Texas faced flash flooding threats as Hurricane Polo's moisture arrived.
• Utah's 2026 storm season brought record flash flood warnings, with watches covering southern areas.
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