Water defines the arid West. Sporadic and intermittent water - think flash floods, freeze/thaw and steady erosion - sculpts the landscape, but it takes permanent water to create conditions for human settlement. At Pipe Spring National Monument in northern Arizona, the Park Service has done an exemplary job of telling the human water story from three perspectives: Paiutes, the original inhabitants; Mormons, a big wave of Anglo settlers that stayed; and the U.S. government.

Through the month of November the staff at Pipe Spring National Monument in northern Arizona will be celebrating National American Indian Month.

To mark the holiday season, the folks at Pipe Spring National Monument are offering tours of historic fort Winsor Castle by lanterns and starlight on December 4.

A tiny waystation in Arizona took hold thanks to its precious commodity -- water. Today, visitors to Pipe Spring National Monument can explore the wondrous history of this place that dates to 300 B.C.