Chaco Culture National Historical Park
New Mexico

Visitor Center

About Chaco Canyon:

Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves one of America's most significant and intriguing cultural and historic areas.

Chaco Canyon was a major center of Anasazi (now often called Ancestral Puebloan) culture between AD 850 and 1250.   It was the major hub for trade in the Southwest.  The Chacoan people traded with people all over the North, Central, and even South America.  It was also the major center for ceremonies and administration of society for the prehistoric Four Corners area.

Chaco is significant for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and distinctive architecture. The construction these buildings, along with related ramps, stairs, roads, dams, and mounds, required a lot of organization and skillful planning. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center with magnificent public architecture.

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More Photographs by Steve: Antelope Canyon|Monument Valley

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Copyright © 1995 - 2007 Steve Schmorleitz. All rights reserved.
Revised: November 14, 2008.
Contact Steve Schmorleitz for approval of photo usage.