This is the Cliff Palace dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park. We love this park. There are 600 or so known dwellings in the park, although the Park Service has wisely not published the locations. The story of the Ancestral Puebloans, as the inhabitants are currently known, is quite fascinating. They inhabited the area for over 700 years and then abandoned it fairly quickly around 1300 CE. The exact reason isn't known, nor does anyone know exactly where they went. The current theory is that extended drought led to famine, and the inhabitants moved south and blended with other tribes. The initial find was made by a couple of cowboys hunting strays. The area is gorgeous and the park well worth visiting if you are ever in the area.
