Far View House - Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Posted by: 
94RedRover
N 37° 14.248 W 108° 30.455
12S E 721092 N 4124126
Far View House, the first excavated ruin in the Far View Group community, housed a large kiva, that may have been used by multiple communities.
Waymark Code: WM5Q2A
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 02/01/2009
Views: 9
FAR VIEW HOUSE, first of the group excavated, has an exceptionally large central kiva, 32 feet in diameter, around which are grouped smaller ones. The large kiva, it has been suggested, was a central meeting place for the several clans that lived here - a plan sometimes adopted in pueblos having large kivas. Far View House was originally three stories high at the north end and one story high at the south. Around the kivas were living and storage rooms. The walled court at the south was used for religious dances and festivals.
Colorado A Guide to the Highest State, 1941
On the east side of Chapin Mesa, the Far View sites includes five villages and an impressive, mesa-top reservoir. This is a self-guided tour of a one of the most densely populated areas of the mesa, showing inhabitation from AD 750 to 1300. Within a half mile of this site, nearly 50 villages have been identified.
Unlike the cliff dwellings, these structures were open pueblos, some even standing two stories! The elevation here, 7,700 feet is higher than the other areas, which would have affected the growing season, but increased the moisture available to support agriculture.
The first sites you'll see are the Far View House, boasting 40 rooms and Pipe Shrine House, with 20 rooms...both show signs of remodeling and additions over the years.