History and background:
In the 4-corners region of the southwest United States, just north of the Navajo Nation, tucked into the tip of the most southwestern corner of Colorado, there was a tiny red pinpoint on the map. The pinpoint lies to denote the location of Mesa Verde National Park. However, though a pinpoint on the map, this belies the parks true nature. Translation: Mesa Verde National Park is quite massive.
At 35.5 miles from Durango, it only took around 45 minutes to reach by automobile from our rental cabin. This made it the ideal candidate for a quality day trip, as any national park should be, when you are on vacation nearby. Unearthed from the past, the many structures and markings preserved here are from the Ancestral Puebloan People.
There are many attractions throughout the park that exhibit the dig sites and the human history of the area, but there is also much more to learn here. The park hints at this with its ample stops along cliff sides, and scenic overlooks containing maps of what’s on the horizon. It’s beautiful and it’s out there, but you just have to know what you are looking for.
There is a geological history which developed even further in the past, and these formations are vital to explain why and how the native people chose this location, and why they were able to construct the massive cliff-dwellings. Yes, it may be because of those cliff-dwellings that most visitors are here, and I don’t blame them. The history around this park is quite complex, and the anthropological sites are the star of the show here.
For those that are unfamiliar with the site, Mesa Verde is best known for its large number of well preserved cliff dwellings. These are domiciles, constructed mostly of sandstone and adobe mortar, built into alcoves or rock overhangs along canyon walls. Outside of the cliff faces were more traditional constructions such as stone pueblos and towers. Some 600 dwellings mark this park as the largest archeological preserve in the United States.
Mesa Verde was so named when in 1776, Mexican-Spanish missionaries and explores seeking a route from Santa Fe, NM to California traversed through the area. They never approached close enough to see the actual stone villages, but I guess they still had the naming rights. “Mesa Verde” (Spanish for “green table”) is actually a misnomer considering that true mesas are almost perfectly flat. Mesa Verde is slanted to the south, meaning its proper geological term would be “Cuesta” and not mesa.
The fist occupants of the region were nomadic Paleo-Indians who arrived in the area around 9500 BC. The folk which thrived in the site and built most of its structures were the Ancient Peubloans, whom inhabited the area around 1,400 years ago. However, by the time Europeans were traversing the continent, Mesa Verde was occupied by the indigenous Ute people. The Utes typically wintered in the deep warm canyons, or the high plateaus. They believed that the cliff dwellings were sacred ancestral sites, so they did not inhabit the ancient structures.
In fact, just east of the National Park is approximately 125,000 acres along the Mancos River designated the Ute Mountain Tribal Park. Containing hundreds of surface sites, cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, and wall paintings of Ancestral Puebloan and Ute cultures, the park also provides Native American Ute tour guides instructing the history of the people and culture.
In order to understand the factors that led to conditions favorable for these alcove cliff-dwellings, we must first talk about sedimentary stratification. This is the process in which layers of sediment are deposited over time, and then throughout time, another layer, and then another layer on top of that one and so forth. A vertical slice of these deposits would resemble a layer cake, but each layer differing from the one before by the grain size or type of sediment deposited.
Water and wind will sort sediments according to size, weight, and the shape of the particles, and they settle in layers of relative homogeneity. Conditions on the surface can uncover different sources for these sediments as well. So one layer could be made up of rough particles of quartz sand, and the layer directly above could be a very fine mud of silt and clay mineral particles. As more and more layers are deposited above previous layers, the pressure increases and causes the layers below to undergo lithification.
Lithification arises from several processes, including compaction of grains, filling of spaces between grains with mineral cement, and crystallization to solidify sediments. At this point, our cake has now become many different layers of solidified rock. Nature then decides to carve a path through this cake. Water, such as a river, and wind, flow over the surface and gradually erode through our layers. Forces below the Earth’s surface also act on our layer cake and gradually force it upwards. As the layers are uplifted the water in the river maintains its altitude and cuts through the layers as they are uplifted forming cliff faces where we can see these layers.
In the case of Mesa Verde, the layers of sediment were forced upward but at a 7° angle. The porous Cliff-House Sandstone layer lies above a layer of impermeable shale. As the water travels downward through the porous material it is blocked by the impermeable shale and forced to move horizontally. When the water reaches the cliff face formed by the river and erosion, a seep spring is formed. These fresh water springs were used as a source of water by the Ancient Puebloan people.
Chemical weathering also alters the sandstone by removing calcium carbonate grains which are easier to dissolve than quartz silica (sand). This weakens the rock, and further increases the likelihood of alcove formation. Alcoves are primarily formed by a process called ice wedging. Water seeps into cracks in the cliff face and freezes when the temperature is low enough. As water freezes, it expands, and cracks chunks out of the rock. As the ice in the crack melts, rock debris is carried along as it drips down due to gravity.
All of these processes combined have left a slanted 7° roof of sandstone, and the carved out alcoves in Mesa Verde. Large pieces of the sandstone that were carved off by ice wedging were shaped and used by the Ancestral Pueblo people to construct their homes. The rock debris that was carried down crumbled into individual grains of sand and silt, and this was what was used by the villagers as part of their mortar mix. The process of alcove formation resulted in a C shape, so it was necessary for the ancient builders to backfill the floors of alcoves to obtain a flat surface for the formation of their homes.
Thus, due to the unique geology of the area resulting in alcove formation, the mesa was settled by ancient people who were able to use these carved out alcoves to construct their magnificent homes. And now, hundreds of years later, we are able to unearth these secrets and be amazed by their accomplishments.
Visiting the Park:
Upon entering the park the Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center will likely be your first stop. With its stunning mirrored glass walls and the large sculpture of a native rock climber out front, you are not likely to miss it. The facility offers a decent set of restrooms just before entering and Wifi is free for the lobby and parked guests. With a short trek around the outside of the building you can peer through the grassy valley and behold the elevated mesa. Telescopes are provided around the perimeter of the facility with no need to insert a coin for operation.
Stepping inside, the museum exhibit situated strategically next to the gift shop will take you on a trip through history, just before you have a chance to purchase your own sticks and arrowheads. The displays offer life-sized dioramas of native Puebloans during the course of their daily activities. There are also artifacts and other interesting archaeological finds on display. One noteworthy exhibit found in the center is a series of headphones playing spoken audio of the native language.
After being satisfied with all of the exhibits on offer, we hit the road to traverse the park interior. We forgo the turn signs for the Morefield campground owing to the fact that ours is a simple day trip. The drive ascends in elevation and makes some relatively benign winds that shouldn’t deter most drivers. If you are one of those people who have never driven through a tunnel carved through a mountain, then you are in luck, because this park has one just after passing the campground. Every so often the park makes use of its terrain and elevation by providing stopping points with scenic overlooks. Each of them is named, present on the park map, and has ample parking, restrooms, trash disposal, and those free views by telescope.
Upon reaching the Far View lodge, just about all of the twisting and winding of your drive will be behind you. We weren’t able to make use of the Far View Terrace, due to it not being open at the time we visited. Shortly after passing the lodge are the signs indicating your location and to turn into the Far View Sites. Once an extensive farming community, it was one of the most densely populated regions on the Mesa. The area is quite large, and includes many unearthed structures and homes. Here you can find the Far View House, Pipe Shrine House, Coyote Village, Far View Reservoir Megalithic House, and Far View Tower, each with informative signs posted around the walkways of the area to indicate what you are viewing and offer a brief description of each particular site.
Moving on from this site and following the map south will be an all way stop. Turning right will bring you to the Spruce Tree Terrace. This particular terrace overlooks the Spruce Tree House. Constructed between around 1211 and 1278 CE, it is the 3rd largest cliff dwelling behind “Cliff Palace” and “Long House.” Containing 130 rooms and 8 kivas (ceremonial chambers), it is built into a natural sandstone alcove 216ft by 89ft. Because of the protection of the alcove above, 90% of the material such as walls wood and plaster are original to the structure.
Departing Spruce Tree will loop around back to the all way stop. From here, we take a right and then continue south along the Mesa Top Loop. The Mesa Top area offers exhibits of dig sites not unlike what was seen at Far View but with its structures situated further apart. You may traverse the loop by vehicle and then at each site, park, and follow a paved footpath to view each of the exhibits.
Located first is the Square Tower house, the tallest cliff dwelling structure in the park. At four stories it stands 27 feet high. One kiva still contains a partially intact roof. Moving on you will find various pit-houses and villages. Each one is covered with metal awnings and contains informative signs to educate visitors about the specific structures unearthed.
My personal favorite site on the loop is the Sun Temple. The features of this structure classify it as ceremonial in nature because neither household goods nor roof beams were found by archeologists. The site is much larger than the previous pit-homes, and due to this, and also its namesake, the structure lies uncovered and in full sun. An eroded stone basin with three small indentations at the southwest corner of the temple is thought to have served as a sun dial to mark the change of seasons. Although the general framework outline of the building can be inferred from what was uncovered, it is estimated that from the amount of fallen stone excavated that the walls were probably once 11 to 14 feet high. The masonry that is exposed in the site is covered with a layer of modern concrete on its wall tops to prevent moisture from further damaging the structure.
Making your way back north, signs will indicate a right turn (east) that will curve south into the Cliff Palace Loop. Here we find one of the crown jewels of preserved cliff-dwellings, the aptly named Cliff Palace. According to the information given by the park, recent studies revealed that Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas and had a population of approximately 100 people. Out of the nearly 600 cliff dwellings concentrated within the boundaries of the park, 75% contain only 1-5 rooms each, and many are single room storage units. If you visit Cliff Palace you will enter an exceptionally large dwelling which may have had special significance to the original occupants. It is thought that Cliff Palace was a social, administrative site with high ceremonial usage.
Cliff Palace is constructed of sandstone, mortar and wooden beams. It is thought that Ancestral Puebloans shaped each sandstone block using harder stones from the nearby river beds. The mortar is a mixture of local soil, water and ash. Chinking stones fill the gaps within the mortar and add structural stability to the walls. Remnants of many decorative plasters adorn the walls; however they were among the first things to erode with time.
If you are unsatisfied after departing the Cliff Palace, you can follow the loop to the Balcony House, a similar smaller structure of 38 rooms near two naturally-occurring seep springs. This cliff-dwelling is a popular site for tours due to the tunnel, passageways, and the modern 32-foot entrance ladder; however we did not possess tickets for this exhibit.
There simply are not enough hours in one day to explore or even see all of the exhibits this park has to offer. It simply would have been too long of a drive to head all the way back to far view, and then west and back south to see the Wetherill Mesa and the Long House. Perhaps that will be our destination on our next visit. For us, we bypassed this detour and upon passing Far View, returned the way we came. Upon exiting the park we headed back to Durango, and the rental cabin hot tub.
For more information, and sources check out:
https://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/nature/geology.htm
https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecology-of-national-parks/geology-mesa-verde-national-park
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