Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, CO
Posted by: 
94RedRover
N 37° 11.055 W 108° 29.306
12S E 722948 N 4118266
Mesa Verde National Park contains the ruins of ancestral Puebloan people, dating from 750 AD to 1300 AD.
Waymark Code: WM3BZB
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 03/11/2008
Views: 38
In the late 1800's two ranchers on the hunt for stray cattle, turned a corner on a cliff,and there below stood the remains of a multi room dwelling, nestled in among the cliff, protected from the wind and sun...but not time.
All throughout these canyons, hundreds of such dwellings leave evidence of a metropolis of culture. Mesa Verde is here for visitors to have a glimpse of this past culture, as well as to maintain and preserve.
Many of the earliest structures in the area, dated around 750 AD, were above ground, sat on the mesa top and stood stories high. Around 1100 AD, the inhabitants began building and occupying these cliff dwellings...but by 1300 AD, they stood abandoned.
Why did these people move off the mesa tops for the cliffs? Well, judging by the amount of dwellings scattered around the area, moving into the cliffs opened the flat mesa for needed farm land. The alcoves also provided shade, a natural cooling for better food storage, so perhaps it was for food storage.
How did they get into the dwellings...some boulders bear the scars of fingertip holes...they would climb using their fingertips and toes, literally digging into the rock for traction. So perhaps they moved into these dwellings for protection from a foe?
As mysterious as the reasoning for the move into the cliffs, is the mystery of why they were all abandonded in what seemed a mass exodus.
These questions may never be answered, but here, thanks to the park system, we can imagine and admire...
So hard to keep your eyes off the canyon cliffs as you're driving through the park...there are ruins everywhere...so the gPS reading is from the Visitor Center, as I was actually able to stop for a moment to GPS.
Street address:
Off Route 160
Cortez, CO USA
County / Borough / Parish: Montezuma County, CO
Year listed: 1966
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Ancestral Lands, architecture, history
Periods of significance: 499 AD - 1499 AD
Historic function: Domestic
Current function: Recreation/Culture/Museum
Privately owned?: no
Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2008 To: 12/31/2008
Hours of operation: From: 7:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.