Zuni, Virginia
Zuni sits on the banks of the Blackwater River, which separates Isle of Wight County with Southampton County. In 1999 Zuni was flooded by Hurricane Floyd and flooded again in 2006, causing the river to overflow and completely cover the bridge crossing the river. When the river overflows it floods many homes in the Zuni area.
Dowa Yalanne
The village on Dowa Yalanne was pivotal in the development of historic settlement patterns. It is the first village in which the whole Zuni population gathered into a single settlement. Although it is unlikely that the contact period villages were totally abandoned, apparently every Zuni family maintained a residence on top of Dowa Yalanne that could be used for refuge when the Spaniards returned. The mesa top was also a position defensible against the hostile attacks of the Apaches.
"Dowa Yalanne" is sacred to the Zuni people. The mesa is a place for shrines and religious activities, and is closed to outside visitors. The rising sun reaches a spot on the southwest of the mesa at winter solstice. "Dowa Yalanne" is "mythologically associated with the 'House of the Gods and the making of rain, lightning, and thunder,' and from this came its alternate name, 'Thunder Mountain.' "