An adventure starts in the Four Corners with two National Monuments.
I’ve always wanted to explore the Four Corners area of the United States. The natural history and archaeology of that corner where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet has interested me for many years. My trip lasted for four days. Four days in the Four Corners. I really could have spent weeks exploring it all. I visited 7 National Park sites, Navajo National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument and Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site.
This post will focus on two places I visited, Navajo National Monument in Arizona and Hovenweep National Monument in Utah.
Navajo National Monument is located on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. While it’s named after the local tribe, the cliff dwellings were built by the Ancestral Puebloan people centuries before the Navajo migrated into the area. There are three cliff dwellings in the park. I was short on time (I lost an hour when driving into the reservation. Stupid Arizona and its lack of Daylight Savings Time.) I was originally planning to take the guided hike to the Betatakin cliff dwelling, but it didn’t happen. So, I had to settle for the overlook.
I promise you. There is a cliff dwelling under that overhang.
Getting clearer.
The picture is a little fuzzy because of the distance, but this is the closest zoom I could get with my camera.
Betatakin (“House on a Ledge” in Navajo) has about 120 rooms, but only 80 rooms remain. The site was built between 1267 and 1286 and probably housed the maximum of 125 people. These people were farmers, growing corn, beans and squash, adding wild game as well to their diets.
The local people may have left the canyon in the late 13th century during the “Great Drought.” There was also some flooding during this time that may have destroyed valuable farmland as well. Honestly, it’s a big mystery.
I also found a pretty cactus flower.
It was a quick stop at Navajo National Monument and then I was off to Hovenweep National Monument in Utah. Along the way I drove through Monument Valley. The views were spectacular. There is a Navajo Nation park there but I just stuck to the major highway. I was not disappointed.
US-163 goes right through Monument Valley into Utah.
This view is famous for being featured in Forest Gump and other movies that I don’t know the name of. People were standing on the road to get this photo. I think not since traffic is going at least 65 mph on this road.
I also found some feral horses along the road on the way to Hovenweep.
Hovenweep National Monument contains six different Ancestral Puebloan sites built between 1200 and 1300. Some of them are pretty remote and require long hikes or vehicles with high clearance, which I didn’t have. I only visited the park around the visitor center.
The Square Tower group is the largest group of ruins in the park. The village was located around and in a small canyon. As many as 500 people lived around and in Little Ruin Canyon. Most of the ruins in this village were constructed between 1230 and 1275, the same time as the cliff dwellings in nearby Mesa Verde National Park (next update).
This is Stronghold House, named for its fortress-like appearance. It has very thick walls for some unknown purpose.
The Two Towers and Rimrock House on the other side of the canyon. The Two Towers had a total of 16 rooms and Rimrock House probably was used for storage rather than a living space.
Located at Tower Point is the remains of a tower, most likely used to store food.
This is Hovenweep Castle. It’s not a castle. Early archaeologists liked to exaggerate a bit when they named places. It was more like a house, the largest in the Square Tower group. It consists of two D-shaped towers perched on the rim of the canyon.
Another angle of Hovenweep Castle.
Finally, the Square Tower of the Square Tower group. It was built at the bottom of the canyon and was probably used for some sort of ceremonial purpose.
The Four Corners area of the Southwest is a great place to visit if you are into archaeology. It requires a lot of driving but it sure is worth it. I visited Navajo and Hovenweep on my first day in the area. Now onto Mesa Verde.
Check out my next update where I visit the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park.
