ANASAZI CLIFF DWELLINGS

The Ruins of a Vanished Civilization

June 29, 2003

A group of Native Americans, now known as the Anasazi, occupied the Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona from about 900 until just after 1300. They first inhabited large farming villages, but later, they inhabited highly inaccessible and defensible positions midway up the sandstone cliffs of the region. The crumbling ruins of these cliff dwellings are scattered throughout the Four Corners region.

The ruins pictured here are located in the White Canyon region of southeastern Utah, just off State Highway 95, in and near Natural Bridges National Monument. Many of these ruins are almost impossible to reach, often requiring rock climbing gear. These photographs, as a result, were taken from a distance.

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Most of this ruin has been covered by fallen rock, but some of it survives in surprisingly good condition.


A wide ledge part way up a cliff, with a nice large overhang, was the perfect location for a cliff dwelling.


It is amazing to me that people could live on a tiny cliff ledge like this. Powerful enemies probably drove them to these inhospitable locations.

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