Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. The structure built by the Ancestral Puebloans is located in Mesa Verde National Park in their former homeland region. The cliff dwelling and park are in Montezuma County, in the southwestern corner of Colorado, in the Southwestern United States.
Cliff Palace in 2018
Cliff Palace in 1891
A 13th-century mural of a rectangular tower believed to be Cliff Palace
The ground plan for Cliff Palace from a survey published in a book by Jesse Walter Fewkes, c. 1909
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado. They are believed to have developed, at least in part, from the Oshara tradition, which developed from the Picosa culture. The people and their archaeological culture are often referred to as Anasazi, meaning "ancient enemies", as they were called by Navajo. Contemporary Puebloans object to the use of this term, with some viewing it as derogatory.
Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park in Montezuma County, Colorado
White House Ruin Trail at the Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Apache County, Arizona
Horseshoe Tower in the snow at the Hovenweep National Monument
Pueblo Bonito, the largest of the Chacoan Great Houses, stands at the foot of Chaco Canyon's northern rim.