html> Chaco Canyon
Chaco Culture
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

09/19/13: Page Origin

The most impressive trips of all are to Chaco Culture.   The level of development, sophisicication, and sheer size of the buildings was most impressive.   In all the other ruin sites that I have visited in the southwest pueblos had up to 200 or 300 rooms, this canyon has numerous buildings of 500 rooms and Bonito has over 800.   Its not just the size of the buildings but the quality of the workmanship, some of the archaeologists refer to the Chaco Plan, or Chaco Mode of building.   In Mesa Verde and Bandelier you see lots of kivas as you do at Chaco, but Chaco has lots of kivas and also has Great Kivas which dwarf all other ceremonial constructions that I've seen in the Southwest.   For more information and pictures please go to ChacoArchive.org.      

We have gone to Salmon Ruins and soone to Aztec Ruins (both are Chaco Outliers) and taking pics.  


This is the way the road to Chaco looks, and there is about 17 miles of it.


You'll pass a lot of Navajo homes, note the round hogan (right of house) near almost all Navajo homes in the area.
Click for larger pic.


The Chaco Visitor's center.


Fajada Butte, a dominant feature in the canyon and highly respected by the original inhabitants.   There are all kinds of celestial signs carved on Fajada.        


Google Maps view of Pueblo Bonito, click the '+' or '-' in the pic to zoom or click View Larger Map to be able to move around to see more of the surrounding area.  
Note:
The straight lines across the south (lower) end of the 'D' shape, are astronomically aligned. They line up with the sun rise and set at vernal and autumnal equinoxes.   Also note a line that bixects the building and is perpendicular to the south line, it runs due north and south, so that there is no shadow cast by it at noon.

The Anasazi definitely paid attention to their environment.


Betty and one end of Pueblo Bonito.   Pueblo Bonito, with about 800 rooms, built about the 11th century, was the largest multi room building in the United States until 1900.   Click here for a sky pic.   We are standing on top of the pile of rocks that fell from the cliff wall in 1941.


Betty leaning on one of the rocks that fell, destroying about 80 rooms of Pueblo Bonito in 1941.  


Looking along the curved back wall you can get an idea of the height.  


A closer look at the cliff behind Pueblo Bonito.  


A look at the back wall's workmanship shows a far superior craftmanship to other ruins in the four corners area.  


This near the center of the back wall.  


Same area from inside (near the center of the back wall).  


Another wall, look at the workmanship.  


This is looking back at where the first shots were taken from, you get an idea of the size of this place.  


A shot of the main courtyard showing a lot of clan kivas along with the size of the back walls of the building.  


One of the front corners of Pueblo Bonito.  


A look, from the courtyard, at the back wall, note it's size and distance.  


Look, from the courtyard, at a different wall, again note it's size and distance from the camera.  


Still another distant wall, all part of Pueblo Bonito.   There appears to be about 5 floors.


More distant walls, from the courtyard.   If I remember correctly, the large rocks on the back left are from the 1941 rockfall.


A kiva in the center, note the stone roof supports.  


This gives you a little better idea of the distance across this single building.  


Here we're going into some of the taller, still intact areas.   Look at the wall and you'll see what I mean by workmanship.


Looking up through a door on the floor above to another door even higher.  


A door in the corner of the room above us.  


You can see the timbers that originally held the floor of the room above and doorways to other rooms.   Note wall thickness, this building was originally designed for many stories above.


This building is almost 1000 years old, note the walls are still vertical, the door frames are straight.  


Looking through a long stretch of rooms.   I am on the bottom floor on one side of Pueblo Bonito, note the thickness of the walls to support the many stories above.   Note the "ledge" on each side of the door, this was used to hold a door (probably stone) for sealing up the room, some of these rooms were used as storage.


Wooden lintels above and stone thresholds below.  


Another corner door or maybe its the other side of the first one we found, its hard to keep track exactly where you are in this building.  


Standing in fron of Pueblo Bonito and looking to the right you can see Talus House 1 and Chetro Ketl both large dwellings.  


Another look at Talus House, at the base of the cliff, from about 1/2 mile away.  


Google Maps view of Casa Rinconada Community.   Click '+' or '-' to zoom, or click View Larger Map to move around and see more of the canyon.   The great kiva is at the upper left, and this is directly South, across the canyon from Pueblo Bonito.


Betty at the edge of the great kiva in Casa Rinconada.  


Looging at the other side of the great kiva at Casa Rinconda, you can see Pueblo Bonito across the canyon at the base of the cliff.  


Note the 'T' shaped entry, and there is a tunnel out to the fire pit (I assume so a shaman could make an "p;magical" appearance from behind the fire.  


A few of the smaller (clan) kivas at Casa Rinconada.   We are on top of a mound which seems to be a large unexcavated ruin.


Another large dwelling in Chaco Canyon.