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Montezuma's Castle Cottonwood Arizona

bigtom13Posted for Everyone to comment on, 5 years ago3 min read

This is where I live and I want to share some of it with you. Pictures from Arizona.

I'll try to give you photos and places you've never seen or heard of. I love my home and it shows me new things even after 20 years of living here and looking.

MZCastle1.jpg Montezuma's Castle

Montezuma's Castle is one of the most misnamed places on the earth. It was 'discovered' and named in the 1860's by early pioneers. It has nothing to do with Montezuma or the Aztec culture. And it's not a castle, it was a dwelling that housed several hundred Sinagua people for around 400 years. It was abandoned in Pre-Columbian days for no clear reason.

It is about 200' from the base of the cliff to the bottom of the structure, which was reached by a series of portable ladders which made for perfectly natural defense. Go up, destroy the ladders and nobody could get to you, The structure itself is a full 5 stories with several improved small caves to use as storage. An incredibly tidy dwelling.

MZCastle2.JPG Cliff Base Improvements

At least two modern day tribes claim the Castle as a part of their heritage. The Hopi and the Ho Hokum both claim to be descendants of the original castle dwellers. The Hopi have a particular belief that once buildings or places are no longer needed they are left without any sort of upkeep to return to the earth. Which means the Castle has stood right here for over 600 years with no maintenance. Can you say that about any of your local architecture?

MZCastle3.JPG Lower Level Detail

Montezuma's Castle is situated on Beaver Creek very near it's confluence with the Verde River. Part of the reason for an elevated dwelling might be that Beaver Creek is prone to flooding during the Monsoon season. Good for farming in the floodplain but not so good for the dwellings.

I need to say here that this is an incredibly pacific and beautiful site. As you can see, the dwelling is mostly in shadow despite it being mid day during the summer. Ambient temperature was over 100 F (35C) when I was there. The dwelling looked cool and inviting. It is also perfectly situated to get maximum sun during the winter months. It really is a marvel of engineering and construction.

MZCastle4.JPG Corn Grinder Base

Montezuma's Castle is one of the four original National Monuments that were created just after the American Antiquities Act was passed and signed by President Theodore Rosevelt in 1906. A seperate site called Montezuma's Well is part of the monument site, but is located about 5 miles away. It's another Sinagua site.

MZCastle5 Verde River.JPG Verde River

MZCastle 6 Camping.JPG Accommodations for 1 In A Nearby National Forest

All in all, Montezuma's Castle is just incredible in it's scope and engineering. Really worth a visit to central Arizona.

All words and photographs in this post are mine. For better or worse

You want some really cool stuff? Check these authors, they will not disappoint.

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