Hewn from the sheer Canyon Cliffs stand the remains of Cliff Dwellings, inhabited by a prehistoric people that vanished over a thousand years ago. Fine new highways lead to these ruins, perhaps the strangest of the state's many wonders."

Sepia tone photograph of Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.

Cliff Palace as seen from Speaker Chief's House in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

A color postcard of the Sun Temple at Mesa Verde National Park. It is a mazes of curving stone walls, with trees growing in between. The sky is colored blue and the walls are tinted purple and orange.

Side view of the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, near Mancos, Colorado.

View looking down into a large Kiva at Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, New Mexico.

Black and white image of cliff ruins

Cliff Canon, Mesa Verde National Park

This is the largest of the many prehistoric ruins found in Uncle Sam's only archaeological park. The structure is 300 feet long and contained approximately 200 rooms, including 23 kivas, or underground ceremonial chambers. It occupies a great cave..."