Mesa Verde National Park preserves a spectacular reminder of the 1,000 year culture of the Ancestral Puebloans. Archeologists have called this people Anasazi, from the Navaho word that means "ancient". They are now called Ancestral Puebloans, reflecting their modern descendants.

Mesa Verde National Park is located in the Four Corners Area, which has one of the highest concentrations of archeological sites in the United States and borders the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation.

Mesa Verde National Park was established by Congress on 29 June 1906. It was the first cultural park set aside in the National Park System. Mesa Verde National Park was also designated as a World Cultural Heritage Site on September 8, 1978 by UNESCO, an United Nations organization formed to preserve and protect both the cultural and natural heritage of designated international sites. These pre-Columbian cliff dwellings and other works of early people are the most notable and best preserved in the United States.

One of the many Cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde National Park has:
Acres: 52,121.93 acres
Federal: 51,890.65 acres
Nonfederal: 231.28 acres
Wilderness: 8,100 acres

There is limited access in the winter with the peak visitation in July and has over 600,000 visitors per year.

Mesa Verde's main entrance is located about 40 minutes east (US 160) of the Cortez Municipal Airport.  Click here to visit the park's official website.  Click here for driving directions.

Walking within one of the Cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde