Junction US 160—Knife Edge—Park Point—Far View Ruins—Park Contact Station—Park Headquarters—Spruce Tree House; 20 miles, Park Road. Oil-processed road; inquire conditions at Mancos during winter, as road is frequently blocked by snow.

The Park Road (State 146) branches south from US 160 (see Tour lie), 0 miles, 5 miles west of Mancos (see Tour 11c) and immediately enters MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK, at the PARK CHECKING STATION (register here and obtain automobile permit).

South of the checking station the highway ascends the north face of Mesa Verde, skirting POINT LOOKOUT (8,428 alt.), 2.2 miles, to reach the head of MOREFIELD CANYON, 4 miles, on the floor of which are many ruins not visible from the highway; no trail leads to them,

The KNIFE EDGE, 5.5 miles, a great narrow bulwark of rock created by erosion, overlooks Montezuma Valley. The route follows the precipice at a great height; the highway is well protected and safe for the careful driver. Here are wide views of the valley, its mountainous background revealed at almost every turn.

PRATER CANYON (L), 6.3 miles, contains numerous ruins, the majority of the pueblo type.

At 10 miles is the junction with a graveled road.

Right on this road to PARK POINT (8,575 alt.), 0.9 miles, highest elevation in Mesa Verde National Park, and offering the finest lookout. On clear days parts of four States can be seen. In the foreground, 2,000 feet below, is the green lake-dotted Montezuma Valley; beyond, to the north, rise the great shafts of the Rico Mountains. Westward, 80 miles away, are the Blue Mountains and La Sals of Utah; and southwest, a distance of 115 miles, the Black Mesa in Arizona. Here is probably the finest view of Shiprock, 40 miles to the south on the Navaho Reservation, New Mexico; rising abruptly from the middle of a great plain to a height of 1,860 feet, this great bulk of igneous rock presents a startling illusion of an old ship under full head of sail. Shiprock is best seen in the evening or early morning. Park Point overlooks the whole of Mesa Verde, affording an extensive view of the canyons that cut southward to the Mancos River.

West of the junction the highway veers south on Chapin Mesa, a high rise between Navajo Canyon (R) and Little Soda Canyon (L); the walls of both canyons hold numerous ruins.

At 15.4 miles is the junction with an improved road.

Left on this road to the FAR VIEW GROUP of ruins, 0.2 miles, also known as the Mummy Lake Group for the reservoir-like depression on the slope above them. Mummy Lake was not used as a reservoir by the Pueblo, but drainage ditches leading into it indicate that early cowmen attempted to store water here for their stock. The Far View ruins are closely grouped, probably for protection. Although surface structures, they are of the same culture as the cliff dwellings, but pottery found in them shows them to be of earlier construction.

FAR View HOUSE, first of the group excavated, has an exceptionally large central kiva, 32 feet in diameter, around which arc grouped smaller ones. The large kiva, it has been suggested, was a central meeting place for the several clans that lived here—a plan sometimes adopted in pueblos having large kivas. Far View House was originally three stories high at the north end and one story high at the south. Around the kivas were living and storage rooms. The walled court at the south was used for religious dances and festivals.

One hundred feet southeast of the structure is a CLIFF DWELLERS CEMETERY, also used as a rubbish heap, for the Pueblo interred their dead in piles of refuse; the bodies were almost always buried in a flexed position, often wrapped in turkey-feather blankets or a shroud of reeds, and surrounded with pottery. Several skeletons and pieces of pottery have been found here. In the partly excavated ruin of FAR VIEW TOWER, 200 feet north of Far View House, evidences of later or secondary construction have been found. Three kivas have been excavated.

One of the oldest houses in the group is MEGALITHIC HOUSE, 100 yards north of Far View Tower, containing a kiva surrounded by rectangular rooms; the house may have been constructed earlier than the larger pueblos, as suggested by pottery findings. Crumbled walls and lack of debris indicate that parts of the house were torn down for use in other buildings. The foundations of some walls were built of stones three feet long and eight to ten inches wide, but the house itself was constructed of smaller stones.

PIPE SHRINE HOUSE, 200 feet south of Far View House, is believed to have been built earlier than Far View but later than other buildings of the group. The house, similar in design to Far View, was excavated in 1922. Eleven long clay pipes were found in one of the kivas, indicating that tobacco or a similar plant was used in religious ceremonies. Bowls and jars have also been found here.

ONE CLAN HOUSE, 0.3 miles southeast of Far View on the rim of Soda Canyon, contains a single large deep kiva; only one clan is believed to have lived here.

South of the junction the highway traverses more open country. Most of the Mesa Verde ruins lie to the south where the land was more suitable for farming, being less encumbered with scrub oak.

At 18.5 miles is the junction with an improved road.

Left on this road to CEDAR TREE TOWER, 0.6 miles, hidden in the timber on the rim of Soda Canyon. This ruin, 12 feet high, is similar in age and type to Far View Tower. Connected by tunnels with the base of the tower, which is of excellent masonry and massive character, are two subterranean chambers; one a kiva, the other a small square room. In the solid rock floor of the tower is a circular hole known as the sipapu, believed to be symbolic of the entrance to the underworld; the term is of Hopi origin.

From Cedar Tree Tower a trail (hazardous) descends the canyon 100 yards to PAINTED KIVA, a cliff dwelling, its walls highly decorated with pictographs and symbols, probably of religious significance.

At 19.6 miles is the PARK CONTACT STATION, with a ranger always on duty during the season.

Right from the Contact Station on a graveled road to (R) the official CAMPGROUND, 03 miles

The highway follows a spur of Chapin Mesa to PARK HEADQUARTERS, 20 miles, starting point for motor trips (only under supervision of official guides) to the major ruins on Chapin Mesa and supervised pack trips to the little known ruins along Wildhorse and Wetherill Mesas to the west.

In the PARK MUSEUM (open 8-5:30 daily) is a comprehensive collection of Cliff Dweller and Basket Maker materials, as well as examples of arts and crafts of modern Southwestern Indians, all arranged in chronological order. A series of miniature caves with wax figures picture the five phases of Mesa Verde culture. One room has been set aside for exhibits of the geology, flora, and fauna of the park. The museum has a reference library on the archeology and natural history of this region (apply to museum assistant; books not to be removed from reading room). The COMMUNITY HOUSE, south of the Museum, has exhibits of Mesa Verde wildflowers.

SPRUCE TREE LODGE, south of the museum, stands on the very edge of the mesa overlooking Spruce Canyon (R) and Spruce Tree Canyon (L). Each evening during the season members of the park staff, and often visiting scientists, lecture informally on the archeology of the Mesa Verde region at the CAMPFIRE CIRCLE, northeast of Spruce Tree Lodge. After the talks Navaho Indians employed in the park dance for a small fee.

Left from the Park Headquarters on a foot trail across Spruce Tree Canyon to SPRUCE TREE HOUSE (ranger on duty), 300 yds., in view of the headquarters buildings. This house, 216 feet long and approximately 89 feet wide, one of the largest in the park, was a village in itself. An estimated population of 200 inhabited its 122 rooms; eight were kivas and fourteen apparently were storage rooms. The walls here, as in few cliff dwellings, were raised to the top of the cave, which served as a roof for the higher chambers. The masonry work is exceptionally fine and well preserved; stones were smoothed and laid with great care; some of the walls were plastered with red mortar, a color also used for paintings and decorations. The village had a "street," a court opening from the front to the back of the cave, near the center. As few of the rooms had fireplaces, it is assumed that most of the cooking was done in small courts and passageways. Roofs of two of the eight kivas have been restored on the pattern of those found in fairly good condition at Square Tower House (see Park Tour 1). Visitors can descend by ladders into the chambers.

The kivas, typical of those found throughout Mesa Verde, ranged from twelve to fifteen feet in diameter; those in the surface structures were slightly larger. A narrow ledge or banquette, about three feet above the floor and broader on the south side, ran around the ceremonial room; its use has not been definitely established. The head-high roof, rising from the banquette, supported by six stone buttresses or pilasters, was made of horizontal beams covered with bark and earth. On the south side of each kiva a horizontal shaft near the floor let in fresh air, and an almost vertical one permitted the escape of smoke. The fire was made in a small pit in the center of the chamber and protected from the stream of fresh air by a deflector. Between the fire pit and ventilators was a small sipapu. Although all native woods were used in construction—pinon, juniper, and Douglas fir—only four kinds were burned on the sacred fires within the kivas—three-leaf sumac, rabbit-brush, greasewood, and gray saltbush.

The Cliff Dwellers, according to a Ute legend, once were animals living inside the earth; they climbed to the upper world on a giant corn stalk made to grow by the Life Force and the Rain. Upon reaching the surface they assumed the form of human beings; afterwards they celebrated their deliverance in underground kivas, clothing themselves in skins and masks to resemble their ancestors. The Cliff Dwellers, so the Ute say, finally began building their kivas above ground, which displeased the gods, who withheld rain and caused a great drought at Mesa Verde.

From tree rings in the twenty-three roof beams found in Spruce Tree House, it has been adduced that the village was constructed between 1230 and 1274 A. D. A spruce tree found growing upon the ruin, and for which it was named, was cut down by Baron Nordenskiold and proved to be 307 years old. The ruin could not have been occupied much before the great drought began, but the stone door sills here were worn smooth by the countless feet that passed over them.