The lands of the United States have a long history stretching back thousands of years. Scattered around the nation are monuments and archeological sites that speak to the deep history of the region. One of the remarkable places to visit is the Hovenweep National Monument, which is peppered across sites in southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado. It is home to six groups of Ancestral Puebloan villages dating from long before Europeans arrived on the scene.
There are plenty of excellent places to delve into the heritage of the Native Americans of the Southwest - some of the more famous destinations include the Cliff Dwellings of Mesa Verde, the Ancestral Pueblo ruins of Chaco Canyon, and the 24,000 petroglyphs of Petroglyph National Monument.
The History Of Hovenweep & Its Mysterious Abandonment
It is known that the area of Hovenweep has been inhabited by Native Americas for around 10,000 years. It is best known for the six groups of Ancestral Puebloan villages. The Pueblo inhabited the site until around the 14th century. The towers of Hovenweep were built independently and concurrently with the medieval castles of Europe.
It is believed that by the late 1200s, the area of Hovenweep was home to more than 2,500 people. Most of the structures date from between AD 1200 and 1300. The Ancestral Puebloans were a sedentary farming culture that was found in the Four Corners area. They flourished from around AD 500 to AD 1300, but they gradually moved on and disappeared for reasons not fully understood - perhaps a prolonged dry period that made farming difficult (they grew squash, beans, and corn).
Other contributing (and possibly interrelated) factors include resource depletion, warfare, and factionalism. Today's Pueblo, Zuni, and Hopi peoples are the descendants of the ancient Ancestral Puebloan culture.
What To See At Hovenweep National Monument: The Impressive Ancient Monuments & Ruins Of Hovenweep
Hovenweep is set in the desert and is home to an assortment of ruins of ancestral Puebloan villages. The towers found at Hovenweep speak to the outstanding skill of the Ancestral Pueblo (travelers can also see a reconstructed Pueblo tower called the Desert View Watchtower overlooking the Grand Canyon).
Hovenweep National Monument straddles the state line between Utah and Colorado and is set on the Cajon Mesa in the Great Saga Plain. Hovenweep has been a National Monument since 1923 and is administered by the National Park Service. It protects ancient ruins of villages, cliff dwellings, towers, irrigation works, houses, petroglyphs, and more.
Like other Puebloan sites, there are also many kivas (they are Puebloan ceremonial - normally circular - structures). Some of the buildings remain at least partially standing after over 700 years.
The first recorded mention of the ruins date from the Mormon expeditions in the area in 1854.
The Six Clusters of Ancestral Pueblo Buildings
Cajon Group: Located at the head of Allen Canyon. Contains a cluster of room blocks with a tower. It may have housed up to 100 people.
Cutthroat Castle Group: The Cutthroat Castle is one of the largest of the ruins and is located in an offshoot of the Hovenweep Canyon.
Goodman Point Group: The largest village with clusters of ancient buildings. It was inhabited between 1150 and 1300 (but also includes earlier cultures)
Hackberry and Horseshoe group: Located on the east fork of Bridge Canyon. The population of the cluster may have been 250 to 350 inhabitants. There are even ruins of a dam built to create a reservoir to aid in irrigation for farming. It has a large central kiva and plenty of other things to see.
Square Tower Group: The largest and most accessible of the ruins. It may have had a population of 500 people, and its ruins include Tower Point, Twin Towers, and Square Tower (the towers are built in a range of shapes - D-shapes, squares, circles, and ovals).
The Holly group: Known for rock art and located in Keeley Canyon, it has five named buildings
Planning A Visit To Hovenweep National Monument
The most accessible of the six units that make up the monument is Square Tower (which also happened to be the largest). Here visitors see well-preserved prehistoric structures. There are three loop trails at the Square Tower Unit. Hikers are requested to stay on the trails and not wander off into the ruins.
Entry Fee: $20 Per Vehicle
Camping Fees: $20 Per Night
Opening Hours: 24/7
Visitor Center: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM (Varies Seasonally)
Take plenty of water; the weather is very hot and is frequently 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 C) or more during the summer.
The visitor center is also located at the Square Tower Group.
Hovenweep is a place where visitors should stay for the night and gaze up at the stars during the dark starry nights (it is also an International Dark Sky Park). Consider staying the night at the campground in the national monument.
