Mesa Verde

History of Mesa Verde National Park

Established in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park encompasses the oldest cliff dwellings in North America. Built between 600 and 1300CE, these cliff dwellings once housed generations of Ancestral Pueblo people and their houses and artifacts can still be seen and enjoyed today. Nearly 5,000 archaeological sites within the Park that are being protected and explored both via Ranger guided and self-guided tours. The hikes are steep, and the air is thin, but there is an endless amount of history to experience at Mesa Verde National Park.
The Mesa Verde cliff dwellings: the structures were constructed from hand-cut stone blocks and adobe mortar. Each cliff dwelling had two or more kivas—underground circular rooms used mainly for ceremonial purposes


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