Home»Colorado National Parks»Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde NP in SW Colorado preserves a large number of mesa-top and cliff dwelling "Puebloan" or "Anasazi" complexes ranging in age from about 6th century to 13th century. The inhabitants practiced dryland farming techniques on the mesa top using systems of dams and channels to capture the sparse rain and snow fall to water their squash, beans and corn gardens. Generally the cliff dwellings (Cliff Palace, Balcony House, Long House, etc) are later than the mesa-top dwellings. It is thought that conflicts due to drought and dwindling resources caused the inhabitants to adopt the more easily defended cliff houses. At some point in the 13th century, conditions deteriorated so badly that the settlements were abandoned and the occupants went elsewhere.