As with my ghost town pages, so went my cliff dwelling and rock art page.  First I had so many rock art photos that I had to split them off by themselves.  Now I have so many cliff dwelling and pueblo photos that I need an additional page for them.  At the time of this writing, though, I only have 2 more months before I move to Germany, so I think this is the second and last page.

    I may add more extensive histories and descriptions of these sites in the future, but for now, I hope these photos suffice.  Some of these photos appear elsewhere on my site, but for the most part I have tried to move photos here rather than duplicate myself.

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

    Although humans have lived in Canyon de Chelly for around the past 5,000 years, like many other sites in the area, the complex cliff dwellings and pueblos in the canyon were not built until around 1200 A.D., when the Anasazi, or Ancient Puebloans, grouped together and constructed permanent, defensible homes.  Around 1300, the Ancient Puebloan culture gave way to the Hopis, who in turn were pushed out by the Navajo around 1700.  The Navajo endured raides from Ute Indians and Spanish colonists over the next 150 years, but they were always able to retreat into the canyon, the Tsegi, or spiritual home, where the Navajo believed that Spider Woman protected them from her home on Spider Rock.   In 1846, what was Mexican territory became part of the United States, and the Navajo were promised peace.  This promise was broken by Colonel Kit Carson, who, under orders from the territorial commander, drive the Navajo from the canyon in 1864 and forced them on the Long Walk, a 300-mile forced march to Fort Sumner, New Mexico.  After four years of imprisonment, the Navajo were allowed to return to Cahyon de Chelly, where they remain today.

    This park is hands-down one of the most interesting places I have ever visited.  I have visited several parks that contain natural wonders and several more that exist only to preserve Native American ruins, and there isn't much crossover between the two.  Canyon de Chelly is a magnificent exception: it's a natural wonder and home to proceless ruins.  Even more fascinating is the fact that Navajo (who call themselves simply Diné, or "the people") still dwell in the canyons, sometimes only a few yards from magnificent cliff dwellings.  Photographed November 2003.
 
 

		The trail to the White House ruins
White House ruins at dawn	On the trail to the ruins
		Antelope House ruin
	Mummy House ruin

Mesa Verde National Park

    Mesa Verde was inhabited by Anasazi Native Americans from around 600 A.D. until around 1300 A.D.; however, the cliff dwellings that are the centerpieces of the park represent only the last 75 to 100 years of occupation.  I first visited Mesa Verde in May 1999 as part of a 3-week tour through the Southwest.  I was amazed to find how dramatically the land had changed since then, since a devastating fire had swept through the park in the summer of 2003.  There was even a red stain on the cliff overhanging Spruce Tree House, where Forest Service tanker aircraft dropped fire-retardant slurry to stop the flames from reaching the ruins.  Unfortunately, since I was visiting on the first day of the winter seasoon, I was only able to tour Spruce Tree House, but I enjoyed my visit just the same.  Last visited November 2003.
 

Looking down at Oak Tree House	Inside the Spruce Tree House ruins
	Sunrise at the park

Hovenweep National Monument

    Hovenweep consists of one park split into several units in a chain stretching across the Utah-Colorado border, not far from Mesa Verde.  Like other sites in the area, the land was inhabited for centuries before Ancient Puebloans built their stone houses between 1200 - 1300 A.D.  There are no cliff dwellings here, only pueblos; however, the amazing thing was to see not only the diverse architecture in the units but also how the Anasazi builders adapted each building to conform with the challenges inherent in their selected sites.  A prime example is the Boulder House, located in the Holly Unit.  This house is grafted almost seamlessly to the top of a boulder in the bottom of a small canyon.  Visited November 2003.
 
 

Hovenweep Castle, overlooking Little Ruin Canyon	Square Tower, in Little Ruin Canyon	Boulder House, in the Holly Unit
	Boulder House appears to have been built entirely without scaffolding.

Yucca House National Monument

    Yucca House was inhabited by Ancient Puebloans from approximately 1100 - 1300 A.D.  The tiny 11-acre park sits in the wide valley immediately west of Mesa Verde and may be the least developed piece of property under the care of the National Park Service.  There are no signs to alert tourists of its existence; you only go there if you know the way.  At first, I was disappointed by the lack of visible evidence of structures at the site; the ruins remain unexcavated and, save for the single standing wall stabilized in 1964, the entire site looks like a mound of mesquite bushes.  Then, I looked around and saw the potsherds scattered everywhere and realized that the beauty of Yucca House is that it's been untouched rather than rebuilt.  Meanwhile, the Park Service is playing it safe: "Yucca House will persist as an undeveloped archeological reserve until the benefits of research outweigh any potentially destructive methods applied."  Visited November 2003.
 
 

The wall

Turkey Creek Cliff Dwelling

    This remarkably intact Salado structure is located at the east end of Aravaipa Canyon, near Safford, Arizona.  Salado farmers built this structure around 1300 A.D. and inhabited it on and off for the next 150 years.  The canyon was inhabited by Apache for hundreds of years until they were collected and placed into reservations in the late 1800s to make way for white settlers.  Photographed April 2003.