Mesa Verde is the most famous of the ruins and other archaeological finds representing the ancient pueblan peoples of the south west US. The mesa top provided, for a time, a rich farmland and the people that lived here built large cliff dwellings. The dwellings were largely used for storage and a few Kivas for religious purpose. We had time on this trip to take a tour through this cliff dwelling. You climb down the side of the cliff into the cliff-side cave — the climb has been somewhat ‘upgraded’ for the safety of tourists, but it gives you a strong understanding of just how defensible the cliff dwellings would be against undesirables!

This photo shows a view of one of the large cliff dwellings from the opposite canyon wall. You can see several tours going through the dwelling and this can serve to provide some perspective.Here is a close-up of one of the dwellings. The open pits would have been covered with wooden roofs and these are the Kivas. The rooms with single entrance ways (doors not windows) would have been used for storage.

 

Natural Bridges National Monument 2001
Colorado Springs 2001