Page 187 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

THE FOUR C ORNERS  185

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Balcony House
Possibly built or adapted for Practical Information
defense, Balcony House could Road map D2. n P. O. Box 8,
not be seen from above. Access Mesa Verde, CO 81330 (970) 529-
was (and still is) difficult. Visitors 4465. Visitor and Research
must climb three ladders high Center: Open daily.
above the canyon floor, then Chapin Mesa Archaeological
crawl through a tunnel to Museum: Open daily.
exit the site. & 7 8 - = 0
∑ nps.gov/meve
Transport
Towers were probably used ~ Cortez and Durango. No
for signalling or as lookouts
for defense. public transport to the park.

Square Tower House
Early cowboys named this site for this
prominent, tower-like central structure.
It was actually a vertical stack of rooms
that was once surrounded by other
rooms and it may have been used as a
dwelling or for ceremonial purposes.

The 23 kivas at this site may have
served a variety of ceremonial, social,
and utilitarian purposes, and may
indicate that many different clans lived
here at various times.

Wetherill Mesa
Long House
A scenic 12-mile (19-km)
drive on a winding
mountain road leads to
Wetherill Mesa, named for
the local rancher, Richard
Wetherill, who found Cliff
Palace in the 1880s. Two
cliff dwellings here, Step
and Long houses, are
open to visitors.
The Rio Chama near Abiquiu in O’Keeffe Country, New Mexico

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