MCKINLEY

county, northwestern New Mexico, U.S., bordered on the west by Arizona. It is a scenic region with highly varied terrain, in the Navajo section of the Colorado Plateaus. In the west, a red shale valley lies between red sandstone cliffs; angular rock outcroppings rise amid the near-desert plains in the far west. Buttes and mesas appear throughout McKinley county, including the long Chaco Mesa in the northeast and the Cebolleta Mountains in the southeast. The Zuni Mountains rise in the southwest and include a portion of the Zuni Indian Reservation. Near the border with Arizona, Red Lake lies in the Navajo Indian Reservation. Though the Zuni River, Rio Pescado, Rio Nutria, and several creeks drain the county, for the most part the streams that created its many canyons and arroyos are dry. Separated sections of the Continental Divide cross Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Cibola National Forest. Zuni Pueblo, Casamero Pueblo Ruins, and Bluewater and Red Rock state parks are also located in the county. A major annual event is the Intertribal Indian Ceremonial, featuring Indian sports, a rodeo, and exhibitions, held in a canyon at Red Rock State Park. Chaco Culture park contains ruins from the Anasazi civilization that inhabited the McKinley county area from about the 6th through 14th century AD. The area was inhabited by Zuni Pueblo and Navajo Indians when Spanish explorers arrived in 1540; missions were established in the following century, but the Zunis took part in the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. White settlement increased drastically in the decades after the Mexican War. McKinley county was established in 1899 and named for the president of the United States, William McKinley. Coal mining, sawmilling, livestock raising, tourism, and health care are all important to the economy. Gallup is the county seat. Area 5,449 square miles (14,113 square km). Pop. (1990) 60,686.