Fort Defiance is located northeast of Holbrook between Chinle and Window Rock along Highway 7 near the New Mexico state line.
Fort Defiance was established as Arizona's first military post for the U.S. Army to patrol the Navajo Country. It was later used to subdue the Navajos on their homeland, and then, be slowly phased into a Navajo Agency to govern the Navajos.
Fort Defiance is located at the mouth of Canyon Bonito in Apache County, about 7 miles north of Window Rock, Arizona, or 25 miles northwest of Gallup, New Mexico. It is at an elevation of 6836 feet above sea level. Fort Defiance was originally the location of the first Navajo Medical Center on the entire Navajo Reservation.
