#sinagua

[twoseparatecoursesmeet]

Montezuma Castle National Monument, 1987

Mickey Crisp

[wandering-jana]

Tuzigoot National Monument, built by the Sinagua people between 1125 and 1400.

2018

[melodiesofmidnight]

Visiting the pueblos of Arizona (2/2).

[thomaswaynewolf]

[rabbitcruiser]

The Montezuma Castle National Monument was declared a U.S. National Monument on December 8, 1906 as a result of the American Antiquities Act, signed earlier that year.

[kohdiphoto]

Scenes from a visit to Montezuma Well in central Arizona this past Saturday, a location I’ve always been a little curious about but to my discredit had never taken the time to visit. It’s located quite near to Montezuma Castle National Monument, and is administered by the monument, but has no entrance fee and is much more lightly visited. And, as anyone who’s visited has rightly told me, is absolutely worth the stop. The well is a fascinating limestone sinkhole fed by an arsenic-laden warm spring, so distinct from surrounding waterways that it has several endemic species of plants, small water creatures, and possibly a turtle. Its outlet is a narrow underground channel which pours out into nearby Beaver Creek, which carries it right past Montezuma Castle on its way to the Verde River.

Like the Castle, the Well also has a number of Sinagua buildings both above and below its rim, including cliff dwellings and even multiple rooms built into a natural cave close to the water’s surface. Their construction was very similar to the dwellings at Walnut Canyon up by Flagstaff, to whom their builders were culturally related. The Hopi claim ancestry to these people, and the Yavapai hold the Well to be their sacred Emergence Place, where their ancestors came up from the previous world.

As we explored we were entertained by the reverberating quacks of a small family of coots on the water’s surface, some of the many waterfowl drawn to the Well in all seasons for its constant temperature of 74F. The park ranger stationed at the main overlook told us that in the winter the water can be populated by hundreds of birds in the warm mist while all around is chill and leafless. Below the rim we were treated to sightings of the resident Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat, now the only occupants of the dark rooms inside the caves.

In addition to the trails around the Well is a pathway down to its outlet into Beaver Creek, which was absolutely delightful this time of year. Huge white sycamores and all manner of riparian plants bordered the stone-cut steps, and the ancient irrigation canal was flowing high with water fresh from the source. Below the steps the creek was close at hand, turbulent and silty with plentiful summer rains. After the well we stopped at the picnic area, which was a shady grass parkland very reminiscent of the grounds surrounding the Aztec Ruins visitor center in New Mexico. Altogether it was a great place to spend a couple hours, and we’ll be going back as soon as the opportunity arises.

[carmencasas]

[harvestheart]

Beaver Creek Rock Art - Petroglyphs, V-bar-V, Verde Valley, Arizona, USA by N3074Echo Via Flickr: The V-bar-V petroglyph site is the largest known rock art site in the Verde Valley of central Arizona, and one of the best-preserved. This site consists of 1,032 petroglyphs in 13 panels. Acquired by the Coconino National Forest in 1994, the site is protected and kept open to the public by the US Forest Service. Opening times are Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The petroglyphs were created by Southern Sinagua residents between a period from 1150 and 1400 AD. The site was known to early American settlers, and became part of the historic V-bar-V ranch around 1907. The ranch headquarters were nearby, and the ranchers protected the site from vandalism. Some historic ranch buildings remain near the Visitor Center.