Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
|
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
|
|
Gila Cliff Dwellings as seen from a gorge below
|
|
 
|
|
| Nearest city | Silver City, New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°13′38″N 108°16′20″W / 33.22722°N 108.27222°WCoordinates: 33°13′38″N 108°16′20″W / 33.22722°N 108.27222°W |
| Area | 533 acres (216 ha) |
| Website | Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000472 |
| NMSRCP # | 63 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NMON | November 16, 1907 |
| Designated NMSRCP | May 21, 1971 |
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a U.S. National Monument created to protect Mogollon cliff dwellings in the Gila Wilderness on the headwaters of the Gila River in southwest New Mexico. The 533-acre (2.16 km2) national monument was established by President Theodore Roosevelt through executive proclamation on November 16, 1907. It is located in the extreme southern portion of Catron County. Visitors can access the Monument by traveling northbound from Silver City, New Mexico approximately 37 miles on NM 15.
Considered by archaeologists to be on the northernmost portion of the Mogollon People's sphere of influence, the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is home to two prominent ruins sites among a collection of smaller sites located within the Gila Wilderness inside the Gila National Forest. The Monument landscape ranges in elevation from around 5,700 to 7,300 feet above sea level and follows the branches of the Gila River. The terrain around the ruins is rugged and arid, and contains steep-sided canyons cut by shallow spring rivers and mesas and bluffs forested with Ponderosa pine, Gambel's oak, Douglas fir, New Mexico juniper, pinon pine, and alligator juniper (among others). The area geologic history stems from the Oligocene epoch and volcanic activity that subsequently covered the area with ash. The Monument's hot springs are remnants of this volcanic history.
The Monument consists of 553 acres (2.24 km2) and contains the remains of a Mimbres Culture community in various locations, two of which are most prominent. The namesake ruins' developers made use of natural caves to build interlinked dwellings within five cliff alcoves above Cliff Dweller Canyon. The TJ Ruins are located on a bluff overlooking the Gila River. The Mogollon Peoples are believed to have inhabited the region from between 1275 and into the early 14th century, during the Pueblo III Era.
...
Wikipedia