Spruce Tree House from Spruce Tree Point, Mesa Verde National Park, Mancos, CO

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Spruce Tree House from Spruce Tree Point, Mesa Verde National Park, Mancos, CO
Spruce Tree House from Spruce Tree Point, Mesa Verde National Park, Mancos, CO

Built between circa 1200 and 1280, this Ancestral Puebloan Cliff Dwelling is known as Spruce Tree House. The building is the third-largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde, containing 130 rooms and 8 kivas, built into a natural alcove in the cliff face. The dwelling occupies a space approximately 216 feet (66 meters) wide and 89 feet (27 meters) deep, and is thought to have housed between 60 and 80 people. When discovered in 1888, it was named for the large spruce tree that existed in front of it, which was cut down by a subsequent explorer. The structure was stabilized and reconstituted circa 1908, as part of the restoration of the larger cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, as well as being investigated archaeologically at this time. The ruin, due to its protected location underneath a ledge, is one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the park. The structure and the park were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, and were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Today, Spruce Tree House is closed to visitors, and has been since 2015, with studies to stabilize loose rocks above the building underway.

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Taken on: August 6, 2023
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Sets appears in:   • Mesa Verde National Park    • Ancient Structures   
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