Cliff Palace - Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Posted by: neoc1
N 37° 09.981 W 108° 28.345
12S E 724423 N 4116318
Abandoned cliff dwellings of ancient Indian who mysteriously disappeared around 1300 A.D.
Waymark Code: WMC110
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 07/12/2011
Views: 21
Mesa Verde, in southwest Colorado, contains the abandoned ruins of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300, then mysteriously disappeared. There are over 4,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings in the park. The Cliff Palace one of the largest, most easily accessible (provided you can handle the ladders), and most impressive of these sites.
Ansel Adams was about 20 feet higher up and towards the back of the cliff so that the large circular structure in the foreground. This spot is not on the visitors pathway, the NPS tour stays lower.
The photograph is from the National Archives and labelled:
79-AAJ-3 UNTITLED
Web link to the photo: (
visit link)