Greetings from Mesa Verde National Park

I’m a travel writer and recently visited Mesa Verde National Park. Writing about it to tell the story of the ancient people who built these amazing cliff dwellings is the kind of thing I love to do. The biggest lesson I took from this visit was how these ancient cliff dwellers were smart enough to build, with no modern tools, something we would be hard pressed to do with what we have today and yet they let their land become over planted, their groups become over populated and when faced with prolonged drought had to leave their homes. If we ignore our population and climate change problems, will we face the same fate?

Sincerely,
Kathleen Walls

Mesa Verde National Park

This World Heritage Site preserves more than 600 cliff dwellings typical of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, which lasted from about 450 to 1300. The allure of this park is not only the remarkable ruins, but also the mystery of the people who inhabited them.

State(s): Colorado

Established: 1906

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