Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado is America’s premier archaeological sanctuary, protecting over 5,000 archaeological sites and 600 pristine cliff dwellings built by the Ancestral Pueblo people. Established in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it holds the distinction of being the first U.S. national park created specifically to preserve human-made cultural treasures rather than natural wonders. Between 600 and 1300 CE, a thriving civilization flourished on these sandstone ridges. For centuries, the inhabitants lived primarily on the mesa tops, but in the late 12th century, they engineered spectacular multi-story stone villages directly into the steep canyon alcoves.