[3] It is located along the base of the Chuska Mountains, at the western end of Narbona Pass.

The McKinley County portion of Crystal is part of the Gallup Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the San Juan County portion is part of the Farmington Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The names of other traders are recorded for the following years, but they seem all to have been temporary, trading from tents in the summer season.

Its name likely derives from its Navajo moniker meaning "crystal water flows out."

[5] Moore understood what the market in the eastern United States would value, and in his catalog stressed the use of natural materials and primitive technology.

[6] Traders in Navajo rugs had to keep costs down to be able to offer competitive prices, so wages were low.

Talking of the weaver's life, Moore said, "there is no more dismal wage proposition than her remuneration for her part in the industry.

Given any other paying outlet for her labor, there would very soon be no such thing as a blanket industry ... it is her one and only way of earning money.

New Mexico State Road 134 has its terminus in Crystal and leads northeast over Narbona Pass 17 miles (27 km) to U.S. Route 491 at Sheep Springs.

[1] The community is drained by Crystal Creek, which flows west toward Coyote Wash and Canyon de Chelly.

[14] The portion of Crystal in San Juan County is served by Central Consolidated Schools.