Mesa Verde << MAY suh vurd or MAY suh VUR dee >> National Park. Hundreds of years ago, the Ancestral Pueblo , a Native American people once known as the Anasazi, built high cliff dwellings of stone along the canyon walls of a huge plateau in southwestern Colorado. Some of the cliff dwellings are still standing. In 1906, the United States Congress set aside this region as a national park. The park was named Mesa Verde (Spanish for green table) because it is covered with forests of juniper and piñon pines. For area, see National Park System (table: National parks) .
The Ancestral Pueblo built their homes in alcoves along overhanging walls of these canyons partly for protection against other tribes. Cliff Palace, the largest cliff house, contains more than 150 living rooms. About 100 people lived in Cliff Palace at one time. The structure is built much like a modern apartment building. It has sections that are two, three, and four stories high. Cliff Palace also has many underground rooms, known as kivas, where the Ancestral Pueblo held social and religious ceremonies. Spruce Tree House, another large ruin in the park, has about 130 living rooms.
Scientists think most of these homes were built in the 1200’s. By about 1300, the people migrated and reestablished Puebloan culture to the south and east.
