Today the massive buildings of the ancestral Pueblo peoples still testify to the organizational and engineering abilities not seen anywhere else in the American Southwest. This complex collection of monumental public and ceremonial buildings are testament that their builders had a sophisticated understanding of astronomical phenomena. For a deeper contact with the canyon that was central to thousands of people between 850 and 1250 A.D., come and explore Chaco through guided tours, hiking & biking trails, evening campfire talks, and night sky programs.
Designated a World Heritage Site in 1987, Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park hosting the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, in a remote canyon cut by the Chaco Wash. Containing the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico, the park preserves one of the most important pre-Columbian cultural and historical areas in the United States.
Between AD 900 and 1150, Chaco Canyon was a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 19th century. Evidence of archaeoastronomy at Chaco has been proposed, with the "Sun Dagger" petroglyph at Fajada Butte a popular example. Many Chacoan buildings may have been aligned to capture the solar and lunar cycles, requiring generations of astronomical observations and centuries of skillfully coordinated construction. Climate change is thought to have led to the emigration of Chacoans and the eventual abandonment of the canyon, beginning with a fifty-year drought commencing in 1130.
The park is on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways.
Copyright 2016. Doug Heath. All rights reserved
Visit this GOOGLE interactive national park link for maps, pictures, and satellite view of the park and surrounding area
ADVENTURE TOURS
Where the pavement ends and the Best begins
To reach Chaco Canyon and explore the site via a WWB guided tour requires a full day. Overnight stays at the park are primitive camping only in a national park designated area. Modern restrooms are provided, however, only the food, drink and camp equipment brought to the site will be available. Due to the limited availability of camp sites, reservations are generally required. Motels and restaurants are available in the nearby town of Bloomfield, NM.
Chaco Canyon NATIONAL PARK
Designated a World Heritage Site in 1987
The Center of an Ancient World
BEST
WILD
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