A structure, Castle A, next door, was even bigger, but only its walls remain. How many people lived there? Some say up to fifty. The Sinagua were amazing builders in dangerous locations the castle high rise has 4,000 square feet of living space in a cliff. They were abandoned forty years before he was born. They thought he built them they were wrong. Montezuma Castle was named for the Aztec emporer Montezuma when European-Americans first visited them in the 1860's. Okay, that's likely too modern a reference for this spectacular ruin that was a spectacular achievement eight hundred years ago, and remains so today. A time of unique and solid structures, built from the land, and sometimes carved from it. Throughout the two sites of this park itself, or its sister park twenty miles away, Tuzikoot, you'll begin to immerse yourself in a time of America's past that seems so inconsistent to the bustle of the cities you speed through daily that it almost seems impossible. They built the amazing cliff dwellings of Montezuma, an irrigation system, and pueblos of ten to twenty rooms, with no tools to speak of in a modern sense. It is a park named for a man who had nothing to do with it's construction and not a castle per se, but that takes nothing away from the pre-Columbian heritage and skills exhibited by the Sinagua people who lived here a thousand years ago. Winter highs may be in the 50's, although there is rare snow and nights get cold. Other hazards of this environment are snakes and cacti. Always hike within your capacity and try to stay indoors or in shade in the midday. In summer, consumming 1 quart per hour you hike is a good idea. Water is imperative, even on a short hike. This is desert weather Arizona (hot and dry in summer), and high elevation, 3,500 feet. Source: NPS, Rank among 387 National Park Units 2022.įees good at Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monument.
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