_National Park_
. SEASON FROM MAY 15 TO OCTOBER 15 .
The mesa verde, or green mesa, so-called because its juniper and pinon
trees give it a verdant tone, is 15 miles long by 8 miles wide. Rising
abruptly from the valley on the north side, its top slopes gradually
southward to the high cliffs bordering the canyon of the Mancos River
on the south. Into this valley open a number of large high-walled
canyons through which occasionally, in times of heavy rain, raging
torrents of water flow into the Mancos. In the shelter of the caves
that have been eroded in the sides of these canyons are some of the
best-preserved cliff dwellings in America, built many centuries ago by
a tribe of peace-loving Indians who prized the security offered by the
almost inaccessible caves. In order to preserve these cliff dwellings
Mesa Verde National Park was created, but they are not the only
attractions in the area. In the winter the park is closed to travel by
deep snow, but in the early spring the blanket of snow is replaced by
a mantle of flowers that change with the seasons, and to the story of
the prehistoric inhabitants is added an absorbing story of nature that
is peculiar to this mesa and canyon country.
"The Mesa Verde region", writes Arthur Chapman, "has many attractions
besides its ruins. It is a land of weird beauty. The canyons which
seam the mesa, all of which lead toward the distant Mancos River, are,
in many cases, replicas of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. While the
summer days are warm, the nights are cool, and the visitor should
bring plenty of wraps besides the clothing and shoes necessary for the
work of climbing around among the trails. It is a country for active
footwork, just as it was in the days of the cliff dwellers themselves.
But when one has spent a few days among the cedars and pinon pines of
the Mesa Verde, well named Green Table by the Spaniards of early days,
he becomes an enthusiast and will be found among those who return
again and again to this most unique of national parks to study its
mysteries and its beauties from all angles."
The northern edge of the mesa terminates in a precipitous bluff,
averaging 2,000 feet above the Montezuma Valley. The general slope of
the surface is to the south, and as the main entrance highway meanders
back and forth in heading each smaller canyon, many times skirting the
very brink of the great northern fault line, tremendous expanses of
diversified terrain are brought into view, first in Colorado and Utah,
then in Arizona and New Mexico.
A new scenic road approximately 1 mile in length branches from the
main highway at a point 10.2 miles beyond the entrance checking
station and ascends to the crest of Park Point, the highest part of
the Mesa Verde National Park, which attains an elevation of 8,572 feet
above sea level.
From this majestic prominence the great Montezuma Valley, dotted with
artificial lakes and fertile fields, appears as from an airplane,
while to the north are seen the Rico Mountains and the Lone Cone of
Colorado, and to the east, the La Plata Mountains. To the west the La
Sals, the Blues, and Bears Ears, of Utah, dominate the horizon. Some
of these landmarks are more than 115 miles distant. Southward numerous
deep canyons, in which the more important cliff dwellings are found,
subdivide the Mesa Verde into many long, narrow tonguelike mesas. The
dark purplish canyon of the Mancos River is visible in the middle
foreground, and beyond, above the jagged outline of the mesa to the
south, the Navajo Reservation, surrounded by the deep-blue Carrizos of
Arizona and the Lukachukai and Tunichas of New Mexico.
In the midst of this great mountain-enclosed, sandy plain, which, seen
from the mesa, resembles a vast inland sea surrounded by dark,
forbidding mountains, rises Ship Rock (45 miles distant), a great,
jagged shaft of igneous rock, 1,860 feet high, which appears for all
the world like a great "windjammer" under full sail. Toward evening
the illusion is perfect.
The distance from Park Point to Spruce Tree Camp, the park
headquarters, is 10.5 miles. The entire road from the park entrance to
headquarters, 20 miles, is gravel surfaced and oil treated, full
double width, and cars may pass at any point thereon.
Although there are hundreds of cliff dwellings within the Mesa Verde
National Park, the more important are located in Rock, Long, Wickiup,
Navajo, Spruce, Soda, Moccasin, and tributary canyons. Surface ruins
of a different type are widely distributed over the narrow mesas
separating the numerous canyons. A vast area surrounding the park
contains more or less important ruins of these early inhabitants, most
important and easiest of access from the park being the Aztec Ruins
and Chaco Canyon National Monuments, New Mexico; the Yucca House
National Monument, Colorado; and the Hovenweep National Monument,
Colorado-Utah.
[Illustration: ROAD MAP OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK,
SHOWING IMPORTANT RUINS ON CHAPIN MESA ONLY]