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Big Kiva, Bandelier National Monument – New Mexico
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Video of Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico
Adolph Bandelier, the first anthropological scholar of the southwest, explored Frijoles Canyon, New Mexico in 1880. The oldest site in Bandelier National Monument dates back to 2010 B.C. Around 1100 A.D. Pueblo Indians began inhabiting Frijoles Canyon and the Pajarito Plateau. Around 1300 A.D. about a dozen large villages existed in the area. One of them, Tyuonyi, is accessible within the Monument near the visitor’s center. The remnants of cliff cave dwellings dug into the volcanic tuft, along the canyon walls, suggest an extensive multi-story village. Some of these Pueblo structures with labyrinths of caves and rooms were occupied for over 400 years. Approximately 3,000 archaeological sites are being documented within the Monument. An unexcavated village, Tsankawi, lies 11 miles away in a separate section of the Monument. The pueblos and cliff cave dwellings were vacated in the 1500’s. Part of the Monument has wilderness designation. Visitors can overnight in the backcountry with a permit. Family and group campgrounds are also available.
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Video of the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
Petrified Forest National Park has the largest collection of fossilized trees in the world. 225 million years ago the trees, Araucarioxylon, Woodworthia, Schilderia, and others, fell into streams and washed into floodplains and mixed with silt, mud, and volcanic ash. Silica-laden groundwater seeped through the logs and replaced the wood tissue with silica. The silica crystallized into quartz, preserving the wood. Remnants of early human occupation of the area dating back to 1250 A.D. are found at Puerco Pueblo. The 100 room pueblo sheltered over 1,000 people. More recently, the Painted Desert Inn, built by Herbert David Lore around 1920, was used as the first overnight lodge in the area. The décor and architecture of the Painted Desert Inn reflects the awesome vistas of the surrounding beauty of the Painted Desert. The nearby trail head will lead you to a unique wilderness camping environment. Musice copyright 2008 by Maury Smith. Slide show and photographs copyright 2008, Creative Juice LLC.
Petrified Forest National Park
Map of the Petrified Forest National Park
Brochures in PDF about the lifeforms and history of the Petrified National Foreswt
