Square Tower House Ruin is situated in an eastern spur of Navajo
Canyon, opposite a great bluff called Echo Cliff. An ancient approach
to the ruin from the canyon rim is visible to the south of the
dwelling. Footholes for ascent and descent had been cut in the cliff
by the Indians which enabled them to reach the level on which the ruin
is situated. The footpath now used by visitors parallels the ancient
trail. Along the top of the talus this pathway splits into an upper
and lower branch. The former, hugging the cliff, passes through the
"Eye of the Needle"; the latter is lower down on the talus and is used
by the stouter and older visitors.
The Square Tower House cave is shallow, its back wall perpendicular,
with roof slightly overhanging. At the extreme eastern end of the ruin
the vertical cliff suddenly turns at right angles, forming an angle in
which, high above the main ruin, there still remain walls of rooms. To
these rooms, which are tucked away just under the canyon rim, with
only their front walls visible, the name "Crow's Nest" is given. Logs,
with their ends resting in notches cut in the rock actually support
walls of masonry, as seen in the angle of this cliff. This is a
well-known method of cliff-house construction.
This ruin measures about 138 feet from its eastern to its western end.
There are no streets or passageways as at Spruce Tree House and Cliff
Palace. The rooms are continuous and compactly constructed, the walls
being united from one end of the cave to the other, excepting for the
spaces above the kivas. The absence of a cave recess to the rear of
the ruin is significant as it allowed the cliff to be used as the back
wall of rooms. Rooms in Square Tower House do not differ radically
from those of Spruce Tree House and other cliff dwellings. They have
smaller windows, door openings, and supports of balconies. The
rectangular rooms were constructed above the ground; the circular
rooms were subterranean. The former were devoted to secular and the
latter to ceremonial purposes.