Chaco Canyon

After the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta we decided to spend a couple of days in the Four Corners area of New Mexico.  Our first stop was Chaco Canyon which is located about 70 miles southwest of Farmington, New Mexico.  The last 13 miles of the road into Chaco Canyon is dirt; fortunately it hadn't rained for awhile and the road was in good condition.

Chaco Canyon is home to 12 Great Houses built from AD 850 to 1250.  The Great Houses are largely in ruins today, but much of the Chacoan architecture remains intact and open to exploration.  

Like other Anasazi ruins, mystery surrounds Chaco Canyon and the Chacoan culture; why did they build here, and why did they depart the canyon leaving behind not only the buildings, but many valuable artifacts?  The number and size of the Great Houses suggests a large resident population.  For example Pueblo Bonito, the largest Great House, was 4-5 stories high and is estimated to have contained 650 rooms.  However, Chaco Canyon is sparsely vegetated and unable to sustain a large community; much of the food was imported.  Further, the pine used in the construction of the pueblos was imported from a great distance and the stone used in the construction came from quarries located about 30 miles from the building site.

The size and layout of the Great Houses are impressive.  Even more impressive is the number and size of circular kivas that are incorporated into the design of the Great House.  There are 37 kivas in Pueblo Bonito.

We only spent one afternoon in Chaco Canyon.  The canyon is in a remote location and the only accommodation is a first come, first serve campground; we weren’t prepared to camp and the camp ground was full.  We visited two of the Great Houses during our stay:  Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl.