Sky imagery is also important and appears on many contemporary objects. The link between turquoise and the sky is recognized around the world, but in the Southwest, the sky can symbolize water as well.

While birds are comfortable moving through the heavens, water birds dwell both above and on the water.

Dragonflies are found only where water is available. And the zigzag of lightning is akin to the powerful strike of a hunting snake but also heralds summer storms that water crops.

Frijoles Canyon, Bandelier National Park, south of Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Photo by Sally King, courtesy National Park Service.

Frijoles Canyon, Bandelier National Park, south of Los Alamos, New Mexico. (Courtesy National Park Service, Origin/Artist: Photograph by Sally King)