The Defiance Plateau is the central area of an uplifted region. To the north/northeast are the
Lukachukai Mountains, part of the Defiance Plateau border; they form a southeast section of
Chinle Valley's border. South of the Lukachukais is the rest of the east border of the Defiance Plateau, the
Chuska Mountains; the Chuskas trend northwest in the north; at the plateaus east, the Chuskas trend more southerly, and attached at the south is Manuelito Plateau, in New Mexico, the east border of the south-flowing
Black Creek at the southeast perimeter region of the Defiance Plateau.
South and southwest The south perimeter of the Defiance Plateau is bordered by the
Puerco River, flowing southwest from the Continental Divide in northwest New Mexico. The Puerco intersects the
Little Colorado River at the southeast edge of the Painted Desert, where the Little Colorado runs directly northwest (then due-north, and then back to northwest) to eventually meet the Colorado River. Numerous mesas trend from the northeast (west and southwest sides of the
Black Mesa) as
drainage basin perimeters feeding the Little Colorado. At the southwest of the Defiance Plateau, is Padre Mesa; north is Ganada Mesa, (
Ganado, Arizona), and northeast of Grand Mesa is Oak Creek Mountain, where the plateau highpoint is located, Fluted Rock, 4-mi southwest of
Sawmill, Arizona.
North and northwest The northwest of the Defiance Plateau merges into the southeast of the
Black Mesa, (southeast-trending, the same trendline as the Painted Desert). Black Mesa is also the west border of
Chinle Valley, where the south-center, and southeast of the valley becomes part of the north perimeter of the plateau. Northeast and east are the mountain ranges that trend southward, and become the eastern parts of the Defiance Plateau. The
Carrizo Mountains stand alone northeast; the
Lukachukai Mountains are connected to the north Chuskas, and the extensive
Chuska Mountains are attached to the Defiance Plateau at the east, with headwaters flowing west, or northwest into Canyon de Chelly or southeast Chinle Valley. In the south Chuskas, the Black Creek, and
Red Lake, at the Red Valley region, southeast of Sawmill, form the final southeast perimeter region of the Defiance Plateau.
Plateau center region The center region is near Sawmill, Arizona.
Beautiful Valley to the northwest contains Nazlini Wash, where the wash is a southwest-tributary to the due-north flowing Chinle Creek system. The watershed origins also come from the southwest near Ganado, closer to the southwest Defiance Plateau perimeter. At Sawmill, northeast of Ganado is Bonito Canyon a northwest tributary to south-flowing Black Creek. The
water divide separating the Chinle Creek watershed, (southeast, with Canyon de Chelly), is 3-mi north-northeast of Sawmill. ==Geology==