Thursday, November 10, 2022

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

 

We have visited Mesa Verde National Park several times. This was a whirlwind camping trip where we drove down from Provo, Utah and on the same day toured Cliff Palace. It was a beautiful day and the afternoon light on the overhanging cliffs. Here is a quote from the National Park Service about Cliff Palace.

Recent studies reveal that Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas and had a population of approximately 100 people. Out of the nearly 600 cliff dwellings concentrated within the boundaries of the park, 75% contain only 1-5 rooms each, and many are single room storage units. If you visit Cliff Palace, you will enter an exceptionally large dwelling which may have had special significance to the original occupants. It is thought that Cliff Palace was a social, administrative site with high ceremonial usage.

 When you are there, you are reminded that you are at about 7000 feet above sea level and temperatures in late October are variable and colder than you might expect. 

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