Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Large circular depression outlined by a stone wall. The bottom is flat and grassy, and has a collection of rectangular stone foundations and smaller circles of stone. A great sandstone cliff towers in the background, and beneath the cliff are other stone foundations that are larger and higher.
Great kiva of Chetro Ketl
A color map of the area around Chaco Canyon, New Mexico
Park map
LocationSan Juan County and McKinley County, New Mexico, US
Coordinates36°04′N 107°58′W / 36.06°N 107.96°W / 36.06; -107.96
Area33,977.8 acres (137.50 km2)
Architectural style(s)Ancient Puebloan
Visitors39,175 (in 2011)
Governing bodyNational Park Service
WebsiteChaco Culture National Historical Park
Official name: Chaco Culture
TypeCultural
Criteriaiii
Designated1987 (11th session)
Reference no.353
State Party United States
RegionEurope and North America
Typehistoric district
DesignatedOctober 15, 1966
Reference no.66000895[1]
DesignatedMarch 11, 1907
DelistedDecember 19, 1980
Designated byPresident Theodore Roosevelt
DesignatedDecember 19, 1980
DesignatedMay 21, 1971
Reference no.57
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is located in New Mexico
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Location of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is located in the United States
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park (the United States)

Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park. It is in New Mexico. This was a cultural center for the Ancestral Puebloan people. The site was active between 850 and 1250 CE. It is an important cultural site from a Pre-Columbian society. The sites were important for ceremonies. At the time, the sites included some of the largest buildings in America. Many of the buildings are connected to astronomy. Puebloan people most likely left the sites because of climate change. Today the Pueblo and Hopi people consider the site sacred.[2][3] The park is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
  2. ↑ Strutin, M. (1994), Chaco: A Cultural Legacy, Southwest Parks and Monuments Association (published June 1994), ISBN 978-1877856457, photography by George H. H. Huey.
  3. ↑ Fagan, B. M. (2005), Chaco Canyon: Archaeologists Explore the Lives of an Ancient Society, Oxford University Press (published May 1, 2005), ISBN 978-0195170436
  4. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Chaco Culture". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2022-07-30.