Now back in Arizona, it was time for more historical dwellings! Montezuma Castle National Monument and its sub-unit Montezuma Well are a fascinating day trip.
History
The Sinagua lived in Verde Valley as early as 650 CE. Sinagua is Spanish for “sin agua” or “without water.”
The San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff were called La Sierra Sin Agua by Spanish explorers due to the lack of rivers. Harold Colton coined the name Sinagua for the culture because the group was first identified near this range.
First, Sinagua lived in pithouses, homes slightly dug into the ground with log posts to support the roof and walls. The remains of a pithouse can be viewed at Montezuma Well.
Around 1050 CE, the Sinagua started building pueblos and cliff dwellings. They lived in these until 1400 CE when they migrated away. Among the destinations were settlements like Chavez Pass, Homol’ovi, and villages at the Hopi Mesas.
Some modern clans claim the Sinagua as ancestors. The monument is affiliated with many tribes including Yavapai, Apache, Hopi, and Zuni.
Sinagua are divided into two groups by archeologists – the Northern Sinagua and the Southern Sinagua. Northern Sinagua lived near modern-day Flagstaff. Wupatki and Walnut Canyon have examples of Northern Sinagua dwellings. Southern Sinagua lived in the Verde Valley. Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monument protect Southern Sinagua dwellings.
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle is the third national monument dedicated to preserving Native American culture.
Montezuma Castle National Monument
2023 Price: Free due to my Annual Pass (Fee would have been $10 per person)
First, pay your entrance fee inside the visitor center. This fee covers Tuzigoot National Monument as well.
The trail to the Castle starts through the back doors of the visitor center. It is a short universally accessible, paved path. Along the trail are the remains of Montezuma Castle and Castle A, an overlook for Beaver Creek, and a diorama of what the inside would have looked like when in use.
Montezuma Castle
In an alcove of the limestone cliff, this 20-room, 5-story pueblo sits above Beaver Creek. Like an apartment building, this was a multi-family dwelling which could have housed 35 people. Only the top story is in a natural cave, the rest are supported by cliff ledges.
The cliff dwelling was named Montezuma due to a misunderstanding. European Americans named the ruins for the famous Aztec emperor Motecuhzoma II believing he was tied to their construction, though the Castle has no connection to the Aztecs. Montezuma was born more than 40 years after the dwelling was abandoned.
According to the National Park Service, here the cliff faces south, so the dwellings were warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The alcove shielded it from the elements. Its high location also protected it from flooding and dangers from strangers traveling through the area.
Castle A
Castle A would have been twice the size of Montezuma Castle, but a fire caused it to collapse. Using the cliff as a back wall, it would have been 5 stories tall. Beam sockets carved into the cliff are visible for the upper stories while some ground-floor rooms still have the base of stone walls.
There are also a few hillside rooms between Montezuma Castle and Castle A.
Montezuma Well
Montezuma Well is a separate unit of the national monument, 11 miles north of Montezuma Castle.
Montezuma Well
2023 Price: No entrance fee
Pithouse
On the road to the well, don’t miss the small parking area to your left. Here a short trail takes you to a covered pithouse dated around 1050 CE. The ruins are similar to Hohokam architecture from the same period.
Trail
From the main parking area, there is a 1/3-mile loop trail out to the well and back. This trail is not universally accessible due to the stairs up to the overlook, rocky terrain at the overlook, and stairs down to the water.
I spotted my first rock wren in the grass near the well.
Montezuma Well
Montezuma Well gets less than 13 inches of rain a year but contains more than 15 million gallons of water! Beneath the natural limestone sinkhole, a wall of volcanic basalt forces the underground spring back to the surface.
From the overlook, the view was absolutely breathtaking! The clouds, mountains, reflections, and color of the water made it so picturesque. We spent more time here than any other spot at the monument.
Water in the Well contains arsenic and high amounts of carbon dioxide – 80 times higher than most lakes! This means no fish live there; however, this unique ecosystem allows for 5 species that exist nowhere else. They are a shrimp-looking amphipod, a water scorpion, a leech, a tiny snail, and a diatom (one-celled plant).
We did see several ducks in the water though including buffleheads and American wigeons.
The sinkhole has a narrow cave in the rim which acts as a small outlet to the other side. This became an irrigation canal for the cultures living and farming here. A spur trail leads down a staircase to the outlet along Wet Beaver Creek. We spotted ruby-crowned kinglets, yellow-rumped warblers, and black phoebes by the creek.
Pueblos and Dwellings
The Sinagua culture began building small cliff dwellings around the Well by the 1100s. More than 30 rooms existed along the rim.
You can see some of the cliff dwellings to the left of the overlook. Like Montezuma Castle, these dwellings are also south-facing to stay warmer in the winter.
More structures are along the water line. Take the many, many stone steps down on the path. Taking advantage of natural alcoves, the Sinagua only had to build a single wall with a door.
Just beyond the Well, there are two Sinagua pueblos along the rim. One had at least 11 rooms, the other had one large room with at least 17 smaller ones. Each room probably housed a family of four.
In the distance, a pueblo called Sacred Mountain sits beneath the highest mesa. That village may have monitored or controlled travel in and out of this end of the valley.
Montezuma Castle is one of the most well-known and visited pueblos in the area. While I enjoyed seeing its exterior walls, often missing at other pueblo sites, I did yearn for a closer look. Having toured other cliff dwellings like Gila Cliff Dwellings and Mesa Verde, this one left me wanting more of an experience. If you visit the monument, do not miss out on Montezuma Well!