Two well-known desert rock formations in New Mexico, the Alien Throne and the King of Wings, have collapsed in recent weeks due to heavy rainfall and flooding that has impacted the southwestern United States. The formations, located near the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness, were natural sculptures shaped over millennia by wind and rain.
Kialo Winters, founder of Navajo Tours USA, discovered the collapse of the Alien Throne, also known as Tsé Bináká Níyol, on October 30. He noted that the King of Wings had already fallen weeks prior. Winters described the experience as surreal, pausing to process the loss of the formations.
The southwestern U.S. has experienced significant storms, with rain falling on already saturated ground. Rivers have overflowed, and floodwaters have inundated normally dry washes in parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, causing damage to homes and landscapes. The storms, which occurred in late October and early November, are estimated to have dropped more than 20 trillion gallons of rain across the Four Corners states and Nevada. Officials estimate the damage could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
For Native Americans in the region, these rock formations hold cultural significance. Winters explained that they have served as waypoints for ancestors on trade routes for thousands of years and are integral to traditional stories. He urged visitors to respect the remaining sites, refrain from climbing on the debris, and not to take pieces as souvenirs.
Tourists like Alan Studt of Parma, Ohio, who visited the formations in 2019 and again in April, noted signs of weathering in earlier photographs, including new holes in the Alien Throne and cracks at the base of the King of Wings. He described the area as magical, appreciating the distant spires, petrified wood, and colorful soils.