top of page

Mesa Verde National Park

CM2_0377 (640x495).jpg

This picture (along with #0408) were taken from the Sun Point View overlook.  At Sun Point View you can see several examples of these dwellings (including Cliff Palace, Sunset House, etc.).  The Ancestral Pueblo people did not always live in cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. For the first 600 years they lived on the mesa top. The move to the alcoves began around 1200 CE and by mid-century, there were more than 30 cliff dwellings in the Cliff and Fewkes Canyon neighborhood. 

Picture Number: CM2_0377

Date: September 2019

Camera: Nikon D7100

ISO: 400     Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec

F-Stop: f/5.6     Lens: 260 mm

This is a picture of Spruce Tree House from the visitor center.  Spruce Tree House is the third largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde.  It was constructed between about 1211 and 1278 CE by the ancestors of the Pueblo. The dwelling contains about 130 rooms and 8 kivas, or ceremonial chambers, built into a natural alcove measuring 216 feet at greatest width and 89 feet at its greatest depth. It is thought to have been home for about 60 to 80 people.  A natural sandstone arch is present in the Spruce Tree House alcove, just above the cliff dwelling. The cliff dwelling was first discovered in 1888 when two local ranchers chanced upon it while searching for stray cattle. A large tree was found growing from the front of the dwelling to the mesa top. It is said that the men first entered the dwelling by climbing down this tree,

Picture Number: CM1_4896

Date: September 2019

Camera: Nikon D7100

ISO: 200     Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec

F-Stop: f/10     Lens: 55 mm

CM1_4896 (640x495).jpg
CM2_0408 (640x495).jpg

This picture (along with #0408) were taken from the Sun Point View overlook.  At Sun Point View you can see several examples of these dwellings (including Cliff Palace, Sunset House, etc.).  The Ancestral Pueblo people did not always live in cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. For the first 600 years they lived on the mesa top. The move to the alcoves began around 1200 CE and by mid-century, there were more than 30 cliff dwellings in the Cliff and Fewkes Canyon neighborhood. 

Picture Number: CM2_0408

Date: September 2019

Camera: Nikon D7100

ISO: 200     Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec

F-Stop: f/10     Lens: 360 mm

bottom of page