Ancient History Preserved in Mesa Verde National Park

Every national park is a repository of its region’s past. Whether preserved for display or sewn into the fibers of its landscape, each of America’s majestic parks holds evidence of former inhabitants and the natural or unnatural phenomena that affected their lives. This is certainly true of Mesa Verde National Park, where each gust of wind carries a fresh breath of history and each rock face tells a new story. Join us as we travel back in time to explore the cavities and uncover the mysteries of Mesa Verde National Park.

What happened to the people of Mesa Verde National Park?

Unfortunately, we’ll probably never know. While scientists can only guess why Mesa Verde’s longtime inhabitants evacuated and never came back, we can still get a glimpse into their lives by taking a look at the things they left behind. If you like to surround yourself with the remnants of an ancient civilization, Mesa Verde National Park should be first on your list of parks to visit.

Situated among the juniper woodlands and southeasterly pine in the southwest of Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park is home to one of the oldest and best preserved archeological sites in the United States. It features cliff dwellings, pit houses and kitas built by the ancestral puebloans, who settled this part of the Four Corners in roughly 600 AD.

Visitors of Mesa Verde National Park can tour the ruins and witness a once-great native tribe’s evolution from hunter-gatherers to farmers, and note the primitive techniques they used for irrigation, construction and artistry. When you climb the ladders and step into the centuries-old pueblos of Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree House and Balcony House, you can see, smell and feel the lifestyles of “the ancient ones.”

Few are able to resist the mysterious pull of Mesa Verde National Park, where preserved structures stand as monuments to the region’s past and its original natives.