Mesa Verde National Park je U.S. National Park a místo světového dědictví UNESCO. Nachází se v Montezuma County, Colorado. Park se rozkládá na ploše 211 čtverečních metrů a obsahuje četné pueblanské ruiny a vesnice. It is best known for several spectacular cliff dwellings — structures built within caves and under outcroppings in cliffs — including Cliff Palace, which is thought to be the largest cliff dwelling in North America. The Spanish term Mesa Verde translates into English as "green table".
Geography
Mesa Verde National Park is located in the lower south-western corner of the state of colorado Souřadnice: 37°11′02″N,108°29′19″W.
Elevations in the park range from about 6,100 feet (1,860 meters) to about 8,400 feet (2,560 meters). The terrain in much of the park is dominated by ridges and valleys running roughly north and south; many of these ridges peak at an east–west crest near the park's northern border which turns more northerly–southerly towards the park entrance. The northernmost point is 13.2 miles (21.2 kilometers) farther north than the southernmost; the westernmost point is 11.9 miles (19.2 kilometers) farther west than the easternmost.
Notable sites
For most of the 12th and 13th centuries, known archaeologically as the Classic Period, the Ancient Puebloan Indians lived in the cliff dwellings. The reason for their sudden departure about 1275 remains unexplained; theories range from crop failures due to droughts to an intrusion of foreign tribes from the North.
- Cliff Palace: This ruin is the largest and best-known of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde. The site has 150 identified rooms and 23 kivas. Although this and other Mesa Verde sites are large and well constructed, they demonstrate a long history of occupation and their architectural design is an aggregation of dwellings and storage spaces that developed slowly and randomly. Accurate archaeological information from this site has been limited due to several decades of digging and collecting at the turn of the Twentieth century.
- Mug House: This ruin situated on Wetherill Mesa was professionally excavated in the late 1960s by archaeologist Arthur Rohn. The structure contains 94 rooms, in four levels, including a large kiva, with simple vertical walls and masonry pilasters. This ceremonial structure has a keyhole shape, due to a recess behind the fireplace and a deflector, that is considered an element of the Mesa Verde style. The rooms clustered around the kiva formed part of the courtyard, indicating the kiva would have been roofed.
- Spruce Tree House: Located on Chapin Mesa, this cliff dwelling is easily accessible and well preserved. The ruins include a kiva with a restored roof which visitors can enter. Excavations indicate that this structure, like many other dwellings in Mesa Verde, was probably occupied for less than a century.
- Square Tower House: The tower that gives this site its name is the tallest structure in Mesa Verde. This cliff dwelling was occupied between AD 1200 and 1300.
- Mesa Verde Reservoirs: These ancient reservoirs, built by the Ancient Puebloans, were named a National Civil Engineering Historic Landmark on September 26, 2004.
Upozornění
- To zajímavé je pouze s průvodcem (rangerem). V turistickém centru Far View je nutné vystát frontu a zakoupit vstupenky, kterých je ale omezený počet. Pak je samozřejmě nutné dorazit na příslušné místo včas.
- Počet parkovacích míst dostačuje, ale pro dobré parování je opět nutné dorazit s předstihem. V případě horka jsou pro čekající na rangera připraveny přístřešky.
Colorado
- Grand Mesa
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Rocky Mountain National Park
