Mesa Verde - Page 1 of 1

Spruce Tree House, a cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park.		A closer view of Spruce Tree House.

A view of one of the rooms at Spruce Tree House.

The ancestral Pueblo Native Americans lived and flourished in the region from about 600 A.D. to 1300 A.D., a period of more than 700 years. During the latter portion of the period, they built elaborate stone villages, including what we today call cliff dwellings. In the late 1200's A.D., the ancestral Pueblos moved away, although they didn't disappear. More than 20 present-day Native American tribes trace their ancestry to the Mesa Verde culture.

The archeological sites at Mesa Verde are preserved within Mesa Verde National Park, which gives visitors a glimpse of the ancient culture. The park is in southwestern Colorado; the entrance is 9 miles east of Cortez on US Highway 160.

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