Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado was designated as a national park in 1906 to protect its archaeological history, including the ancient Anasazi tribe’s dwellings in caves and under cliffs. The park’s most popular attraction is the Cliff Palace, the largest North American rock dwelling. Before national recognition, artifacts were stolen and sold, but the Wetherill family and the Ute tribe helped recover many. The park’s name comes from the evergreen trees that grow on and around the cliffs, and Spanish explorers never located the cliffs in the 18th century.
Mesa Verde National Park is an 81.4 square mile (211 square km) area in the southwest corner of the state of Colorado in the United States. It was designated a national park by US President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 to protect it from the vandalism that has plagued the region for more than 100 years. Mesa Verde National Park joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 and became a licensed World Heritage Site in 1978.
The park is most famous for its archaeological history, which dates back to AD 1200. Historical accounts indicate that the ancient Anasazi tribe, a subgroup of the Pueblos who occupied large swathes of Mexico and what would later become the southwestern United States, lived in this area. They built most of their dwellings inside caves and under the shelters or “planks” of cliffs in the surrounding mountains.
The Cliff Palace is one of the most popular attractions in Mesa Verde National Park. It is commonly known as the largest North American rock dwelling in existence, with 23 sunken rooms carved into the massive rocks and cliffs. Each of the rooms, which have colorful designs on the walls, is believed to have been used for specific ceremonies undertaken by the original inhabitants.
Before Mesa Verde National Park received national recognition and protection, hundreds of artifacts and relics would be stolen from caves and cliffs and sold by thieves to international collectors. A local farming family named Wetherill is commonly credited with saving many of the historic ruins in the early 20th century, working closely with the local Ute tribe. Their combined efforts are credited with the recovery of hundreds of ancient artifacts and their sale to the Historical Society of Colorado.
Mesa verde translates from Spanish to green table in English. The park’s name is usually attributed to the proliferation of evergreen pine and juniper trees that grow on and around the cliffs and plateaus in the area. Spanish explorers would name the area Mesa Verde in the 18th century.
Although Spanish explorers passed through the area in the 1760s and 1770s while charting a U.S. route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to California, they never seem to have located the cliffs. This oversight is generally attributed to the direction of their travel around the cliffs. The ancient caves and cliffs weren’t discovered until the second half of the 19th century.
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