Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde – is a very important attraction in the United States, which is a huge national reserve with a total area of 211 km. The park was created in 1906 on the territory, which belongs to the American state of Colorado. He also has his place of honor in UNESCO heritage registers.

Translated into Russian, Mesa Verde sounds like « Green Table », which is associated with a huge plateau located near. The main goal of creating the – National Park is to preserve the traces of the ancient Indian settlement of Anasazi that lived in this place at least 800 years ago. They rush to look at the remains of ancient civilization to see annually about a million travelers.

According to archaeological research, these lands were inhabited by Indians more than 1.5 thousand years ago. They gradually settled down, turning modest dugouts into a wonderful city on cliffs of rocks. But, about 700 years ago, the Indians had to leave their homes, since the local conditions did not correspond ( there was a very long drought ).

One of the first Europeans to set foot on this land is the Spaniards who tried to find their way to California with New Mexico. These events date back to the second half of the 18th century. The name of the area of Mesa Verde, for the first time sounded precisely by them.

The oldest settlement, which attracts many tourists in our time, was discovered in the 19th century. American hunters and an expedition have been talking about him many times, but the US government was in no hurry to take any action to protect archaeological values. But, when in the 90s of the same century, Gustav Nordenscheld began to study Mesa Verde, and was able to convey the significance of this territory, the situation changed. After the publication of his research, this historical monument became known to the whole world.

After Mesa Verde was declared the National Park, various reconstruction and conservation of buildings that were built over 1000 years ago by Native American tribes began to actively carry out various reconstruction and conservation work here.

Mesa Verde National Park holds many structures, among which stands out « Cliff Palace », which has been built for about 70 years. It was designed for approximately 100 people, since it accommodates just as many residential premises, there are also twenty-three round platforms and other structures, including towers. From research it is known that there were people in this complex who had a special status. Near this famous palace there is an archaeological museum, which also attracts not little attention of visitors.

Here, a fairly large number of various ancient exhibits are presented for review, among which ceramics are of particular value. The tribe of the Indians also weaved various products, among which amazing baskets were preserved.