Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico's San Juan Basin is an ode to the Chacoan way of life. For over three hundred years, these clever, indigenous people planned and constructed a variety of buildings for both public and private use. The architecture is unique, far ahead of its time and includes multiple stories, geometry, landscaping and astronomical alignment.
The Chacoans lived in the canyon from 850 to 1250 A.D. At that time, the region was a bustling center of trade and ceremony.
Stone buildings, called Great Houses, were designed and built. Each had multiple stories and consisted of hundreds of rooms.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park contains several Great Houses and has discovered approximately 4,000 archaeological sites.
The park resides in the southeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau with elevations of 6,000 to 6,800 feet. The climate is a semi-arid desert.
In 1929, Anne Morrow Lindbergh took the first aerial photographs of the canyon while flying in her husband's plane.
