Balcony House sits high in the rock
a better view of Square House
looking at Spruce Tree house
Cliff Palace fitts nicely under the ledge, some of the buildings extend to the open
petroglyphs
entry to the pueblos was via a ladder
ruins of a pueblo
Square House
Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde National Park sports many well preserved cliff dwelling of the Ancestral Puebloans, known by the Navajos as the Anasazi.
The area has been inhabited for many thousands of years but from 750 AD people started building pueblos and other houses under the canyon cliffs.
A major drought at the end of the 13th century caused the collapse of the civilisation here and the remaining people moved out.
 
Some of the dwellings are pretty large, like Cliff Palace, others, like Balcony House, are strategically situated and can only be accessed by high ladders and through a narrow tunnel.
 
A hiking trail leads to Petroglyph Point where you can admire an intriging petroglyph engraved on a rock.
 
We visited Mesa Verde in Sept. 1993.
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a view of the ridge which houses Cliff Palace
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Cliff Palace
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the ruins of Spruce Tree House
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the round kiva of Square House
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entry to Balcony house is via a 10 meter ladder
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