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National Park Service Park News and Visitor Guide U.S. Department of Interior Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments VO L UM E 4 • N UMB ER 1 FALL 2009 / WINTER 2010 Welcome To The Monuments Of The Verde Valley Echoes from the Past The Verde Valley, lying under the spectacular pine-clad cliffs of the Mogollon Rim of central Arizona, forms an immense biological transition between desert, grassland and forest vegetation zones. DISCOVERING THE 10,000 YEAR LEGACY As the seasons change, this endangered riparian or streamside habitat of the Verde River serves as a migration corridor for many OF PEOplE IN THE VERDE VALLEY animals traveling from summer to winter ranges in the south. But for thousands of years, the Verde Valley was also a haven for the visit to Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well and movement of people, providing the food and water all life needs for Tuzigoot National Monuments provokes many survival. A questions. Why did they live here? Where did they The National Monuments of the Verde Valley - Montezuma Castle, go? And, perhaps most importantly, how did they live in Montezuma Well and Tuzigoot - protect and interpret the legacy of this land of seemingly harsh contrasts: hot and arid in the the Sinagua culture, an Native people who flourished in the area for summer, cool in the winter? centuries, long before Columbus claimed to have discovered this New World. continued on page 4 Montezuma Castle has been described as the best preserved and most dramatic cliff dwelling in the United States. Montezuma Well is CO NTENT S a natural limestone sinkhole with prehistoric sites and several animal General Information 2 species found nowhere else in the world. Tuzigoot is the remains of a Montezuma Castle 3 110-room pueblo perched on a high ridge with a panoramic view of Echoes From The Past - The Sinagua 4-5 the Verde River. Montezuma Well - A Natural Oasis 6 Today’s visitors marvel at the well-preserved Sinagua dwellings, Tuzigoot 7 Reflections From A Summer Well Spent 8 but also allow some time to experience the oasis of the riparian area. Flagstaff Area Monuments 9 As the seasons change, we invite you to – ENJOY! Become A Junior Ranger! 10 — Kathy M. Davis, Superintendent Local Freinds and Partners 11 WNPA 12 G ENERAL IN FO R M ATI O N Protect your Monuments Ranger Programs National Park Service • The arid desert landscape is very • Ranger programs are offered at least U.S. Department of the Interior fragile and wildfires are a real danger. twice daily at Montezuma Castle and Smoking is permitted in designated as staffing allows at both Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle & Tuzigoot National Monuments areas only. Montezuma Well. These programs range • All the Monuments are protecting in length from 20 minutes to an hour Superintendent archeological sites as well as natural and cover topics including archeology, Kathy M. Davis resources. It is against the law to Sinagua culture and the geology/biology tamper with, deface or remove any of the Verde Valley. Ask a ranger at the Mailing Address Website artifact, plant, rock or other natural park visitor center for details on times feature of the park. and locations of these programs. PO Box 219 www.nps.gov/moca • Hiking off the trails can damage the Camp Verde, AZ 86322 www.nps.gov/tuzi soil crust — a living groundcover of • Education programs and classroom lichens, mosses and other organisms. presentation are also available to local Park Headquarters Email • Off-road parking or driving is and visiting school groups. Call Ranger (928) 567-5276 [email protected] prohibited. Joshua Boles at (928)567-3322 x30, or • Please help with trash removal and use email ([email protected]) for more fx: (928) 567-3597 the waste receptacles. We have an information and scheduling. Montezuma Castle Montezuma Well Tuzigoot active recycling program for aluminum Accessibility cans and plastic bottles, with 2800 Montezuma Castle Rd 5525 Beaver Creek Rd 25 W. Tuzigoot Rd • The National Parks and Monuments are designated blue receptacles. areas of great beauty and significance, Camp Verde, AZ 86322 Rimrock, AZ 86335 Clarkdale, AZ 86324 • Camping is prohibited in all areas of set aside for all to enjoy. Ask a Ranger (928)567-3322 (928) 567-4521 (928) 634-5564 the Monuments. if there are any questions or concerns • Bicycles, skateboards and any about accessibility. Audio cassettes motorized vehicle other than Hours of Operation (Closed Christmas Day) and text in Braille are available. More wheelchairs are not permitted on the details about trails and the Visitor September - May: Daily 8am - 5pm trails. Centers are available under individual June - August: Daily 8am - 6pm • Gas stoves are permitted only at the Monument descriptions. Montezuma Well picnic area. No ash producing fires are allowed in the Monuments. VIP Program • Our volunteers are priceless! The • Please help with trash removal and National Park Service’s “Volunteers in Park Entrance Fees and Passes use the waste receptacles. We have Parks” program gives the public an an active recycling program for opportunity to share knowledge and Daily Entrance Fees for Montezuma Castle or Tuzigoot: aluminum cans and plastic bottles, with experience. Call 928-567-3322, ext. 30 designated brown receptacles. $5 per adult (16 & over) Children FREE (under 16) Protect Yourself “Echoes” is provided by Combined Fees for Montezuma Castle AND Tuzigoot: • Remember to drink lots of water, use Western National Parks Association sunscreen and wear a hat! If you feel in cooperation with: $8 per adult (16 & over) Children FREE (under 16) thirsty you are already on the way to Montezuma Castle National Monument, being dehydrated. Be prepared with Montezuma Well and Tuzigoot National appropriate footwear and clothing Monument P.O. Box 219, Camp Verde, Az. 86322 INTERAGENCY ANNUAL PASS: $80 for temperatures that can exceed 100 Grants access to all federal fee areas in the degrees in the summer and below Editor: Joshua Boles U.S. (with some exceptions), including all freezing in the winter. Design & Production: Amanda Summers national parks and monuments, for twelve • Please stay on the trails. Rattlesnakes Design, Joshua Boles, and Paul Ollig months from date of purchase. live here although they are rarely sighted. INTERAGENCY SENIOR PASS: $10 Contributors and Advisors: Kathy Davis, • Handrails are there for your safety; A one-time fee grants access to all federal Sherry Wood, Ed Cummins, Karen Hughes, fee areas in the U.S. (with some exceptions). please do not go past them. Rock John Reid, Rex Vanderford, Joshua Boles, For US citizens or permanent residents 62 surfaces can be slippery; please stay Jon Fistler, Skip Larson, Penny Wagner, & years of age or older. away from any cliff edge. Anne Worthington. • Pets on a short leash are allowed on INTERAGENCY ACCESS PASS: FREE the trails but must be carried into Grants access to all federal fee areas in the Masthead art © 2004 Visitor Centers. Do not leave pets in a Montezuma Castle National Monument U.S. (with some exceptions) for permanently vehicle during warm weather. Please disabled US citizens or permanent residents. Printed on recycled paper with soy inks by clean up after your pet. the Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, AZ. MONTEZUMA CASTLE There is little evidence of conflict or war- Once Montezuma Castle was recorded on It is not a castle — although there is a great fare but perhaps people felt more secure liv- early maps, the name was accepted. magnificence to this prehistoric American Indian ing in the Castle. The series of ladders used When Fort Verde was established to subdue to climb to the site could be pulled in for the and round up the Yavapai and Apache people, structure — and the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II was night and there is a panoramic view of the a popular outing for officers and enlisted men river and valley from the top parapet level. A was to visit “The Castle.” Depending on the never here; the Castle was inhabited at least a century small ruin above the Castle, on the top of the perspective, it was either a site to preserve or a cliff, allows views of the entire countryside; a treasure chest full of curiosities to take home. before he was born! sentry would have advance warning of any- Very few original artifacts remained in one entering the area. 1906 when President Teddy Roosevelt de- Just as important - the Castle is simply a clared Montezuma Castle a National Monu- ising 100 feet above the Beaver Creek Montezuma Castle is located along Bea- wonderful place to live in all seasons. It is cool ment, but protection of the structure for fu- floodplain, Montezuma Castle is a tes- ver Creek, possibly a final leg in a major pre- in the summer and warm in the winter. The ture generations was assured. Rtimony to the resilience and innova- historic trade route from northern Arizona. higher elevation gives some relief from biting In 1933, “Castle A” was excavated, uncov- tions of a people labeled the “Sinagua,” named People following this trail were seeking salt, mosquitoes, juniper gnats and other pesky ering a wealth of information and artifacts that after the Spanish term for the San Francisco cotton, argillite and other minerals. vermin. Daily activities, such as processing expanded our knowledge of the Sinagua. The Peaks, the “Sierra Sin Agua” — “the mountain Were the residents of Montezuma Castle food, were done on the roof, and most areas Visitor Center displays at Tuzigoot and Mon- without water.” keeping watch on traders or other visitors have an inspiring creekfront view! tezuma Castle showcase this culture; a legacy Montezuma Castle is one of the best-pre- entering the area, or was it simply a very nice that did not disappear but is still alive with the served cliff dwellings in the United States.