BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT NEW MEXICO
Located in north-central New Mexico the focal point of the monument is a 2.5 mile section of Frijoles Canyon containing a concentration of cliff wall and open rock structure pueblos. Occupation of the site by the Ancestral Pueblo people extended from approximately 1150AD to 1550AD. The people were primarily farmers with their crops grown on the adjoining mesa tops. The unique lower cliff wall homes were built by expanding the existing natural voids in the soft volcanic tuff walls of the canyon. The canyon wall homes were then enlarged outwards by connecting rock walls and timber for additional living space. By 1550AD a long-term drought forced the Ancestral Pueblo people to resettle along the Rio Grande in what are today's existing pueblo communities. A grand view of Frijoles Canyon can be made by hiking the Canyon Rim/Long Trail loop along the west mesa top. This image is from the upper Long Trail.
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