Chaco Canyon
Chaco
Canyon is located in northwestern New Mexico in Chaco Culture National
Historic Park. It was inhabited over one thousand years ago by the people
we call the the Anasazi, meaning "the ancient ones" or "the
enemies of our ancient fathers" in Navaho. These people are also
known as the Hisatsinom or Ancestral Puebloans. Regarded as the home of
the most significant array of archaeological remains left behind by their
culture, the canyon is littered with over 1,200 well-planned and carefully
built structures exhibiting exquisite masonry. The many large, multi storied
buildings, like the great houses Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl and the
ceremonial subterranean kivas, were the largest man-made structures in
North America before the advent of the eighteen hundreds. Majority of
the buildings were constructed within the time frame of 900 AD to 1100
AD. The site was suddenly abandoned in the 13th century. Photo of sunset
in the canyon by johnathan339 of Webshots.