Greatheart Press

America’s National Parks

Puzzle 46 · The Colorado Plateau · Page 68 in print

Mesa Verde

Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America, has 150 rooms and 23 kivas and was likely home to more than 100 people, a village like any other except for its size.

Jump to a word
A view of the cliff dwelling Long House, a large series of stonework buildings located under a cliffside overhang.

Long House fills a broad alcove in Mesa Verde.

NPS · Public domain (U.S. federal government work) · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

Large stonework buildings surround a plaza, wood beams protruding from their sides to form balconies.

Balconies at Balcony House helped connect upper rooms.

NPS · Public domain (U.S. federal government work) · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

The words

  1. Balcony House

    Balcony House, the cliff dwelling named for its preserved balconies.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  2. Basketmaker

    Basketmaker, the archaeological period named for baskets associated with early Ancestral Pueblo pit structures.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  3. Chapin Mesa

    Chapin Mesa, the mesa containing Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and other heritage sites.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  4. Cliff Palace

    Cliff Palace, the large Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  5. Far View

    Far View, the area containing several excavated Ancestral Pueblo sites.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  6. Kiva

    A kiva, a communal and ceremonial space in Ancestral Pueblo architecture.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  7. Long House

    Long House, the large Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwelling on Wetherill Mesa.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  8. Metate

    A metate, the larger grinding stone used with a mano to grind corn.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  9. Oak Tree House

    Oak Tree House, the Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwelling in an alcove.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  10. Pithouse

    A pithouse, an earlier dwelling represented by the pit structures at Step House.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  11. Puebloans

    Ancestral Puebloans, the people who built and lived in Mesa Verde's settlements.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  12. Step House

    Step House, the alcove preserving both pithouses and a later masonry pueblo.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  13. Sun Temple

    Sun Temple, the mesa-top site described by contemporary Pueblo people as ceremonial space.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  14. Toeholds

    Toeholds, small footholds used when climbing the cliff face in the park's educational account.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  15. Wetherill Mesa

    Wetherill Mesa, the western mesa containing Step House and Long House.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

Sources

  1. Cliff Dwellings - Mesa Verde National ParkNational Park Service
  2. Step House - Mesa Verde National ParkNational Park Service
  3. Mesa Verde National Park: World Heritage SiteNational Park Service
  4. Artifact Gallery - Mano and Metate - Mesa Verde National ParkNational Park Service
  5. Oak Tree HouseNational Park Service
  6. Mesa Verde National Park Junior Ranger Activity BookNational Park Service
  7. Wetherill Mesa - Mesa Verde National ParkNational Park Service

How we choose sources and photographs