Square Tower House stands against a southern-facing pocket along the eastern edge of Navajo Canyon. The present-day namesake of this place is all that remains of a multi-storied structure -- four stories tall in places along the cliff wall, then three and two -stories out and below that -- occupied between 1200 and 1300, and which originally consisted of over 80 rooms.
Today, the remains of 60 rooms and 7 kivas are visible. Two of the kivas retain portions of their original roofs. As with most of the cliff houses, at the bottom of the draw below this site is a healthy spring which could have provided water for Square Tower's occupants. Hand and toe "trials", carved into the cliff's sandstone, provided access to water sources and the mesa above where fields were located. There was no path access to this dwelling.
The hiking trail to Square Tower House was closed when we visited, but would be an awesome hike to make some day.
Pithouses and villages along the top loop...
Ceremonial chamber
Crescent-shaped Village....
First view of Cliff Palace from Sun Point View...
Cliff Palace, the largest and most famous cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park, has over 150 individual rooms and more than 20 kivas (rooms for religious rituals). Crafted of sandstone, wooden beams and mortar, Mesa Verde Cliff Palace has been remarkably well preserved from the elements for the past 700 years.
Take a look at the alcove in which Mesa Verde Cliff Palace is built. The rock you see is Cliffhouse sandstone, geologically deposited during the Cretaceous Period some 78 million years ago. Since sandstone is a very porous material, moisture seeps right down through it. Beneath the layer of sandstone, however, is a layer of shale through which the moisture cannot penetrate. In the winter months, when the moisture freezes and expands, chunks of sandstone are cracked and loosened. Later these pieces collapse, forming alcoves such as the one here.
Continuing along the cliff....
Looking South down Navajo Canyon from Sun Temple
Cliff Palace, the largest and most famous cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park, has over 150 individual rooms and more than 20 kivas (rooms for religious rituals). Crafted of sandstone, wooden beams and mortar, Mesa Verde Cliff Palace has been remarkably well preserved from the elements for the past 700 years.
While we were able to view Cliff Palace from the Sun Point View and from Sun Temple, the canyon entrance to Cliff Palace itself was closed until later in the Spring when there are ranger-guided hikes requiring climbing four ladders.
Sun Temple....
Another view of Cliff Palace looking directly across from Sun Temple...
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