Mesa
Verde National Park
Mesa Verde, Spanish for "green table," offers an unparalleled
opportunity to see and experience a unique cultural
and physical landscape. The culture represented at Mesa
Verde reflects more than 700 years of history. From
approximately A.D. 600 through A.D. 1300 people lived
and flourished in communities throughout the area, eventually
building elaborate stone villages in the sheltered alcoves
of the canyon walls. Today most people call these sheltered
villages "cliff dwellings." They represent the last
75 to 100 years of occupation at Mesa Verde. In the
late 1200s, within the span of one or two generations,
these people left their homes and moved away. The archeological
sites found in Mesa Verde are some of the most notable
and best preserved in the United States. Mesa Verde
National Park offers visitors a spectacular look into
the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Scientists
study the ancient dwellings of Mesa Verde, in part,
by making comparisons between the Ancestral Pueblo people
and their contemporary indigenous descendants who still
live in the Southwest today. Twenty-four Native American
tribes in the southwest have an ancestral affiliation
with the sites at Mesa Verde. Call 970-529-4465 for
more visitor information.
