Chaco Culture National Historical Park Travel Guide

 AlbuqRay Says:  Casa Rinconada is an isolated great kiva located on top of a ridge on the southern side of the canyon directly across from Pueblo Bonito. It is located within a cluster of small house sites. Two of the closest are Bc 58, 290 feet (85 m) to the northeast, and Bc 50, 290 feet... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  Talus Unit is a small structure composed of east and west room blocks located against the cliff behind the back wall of Chetro Ketl. Two rooms connect the east and west room blocks, which rise three-stories at the cliff base and terrace towards the front. Tree-ring dates... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  Hungo Pavi is the first stop on the Chaco loop road. It is an unexcavated great house located about 1.8 miles (2.9 km.) southeast of Pueblo Bonito at the mouth of Mockingbird Canyon. According to the Chaco Research Archives, the site contains approximately 140 rooms. The... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  Chacoans were definitely skywatchers. Fajada Butte has six petroglyphs including the Sun Dagger, a carving of a "rattlesnake", other spirals, and a rectangle that are conspicuously lit by contrasts between sunbeams and shadows during equinoxes or solstices. Public access to... 

 shdw100 Says:  There is quite an extensive history of Chaco Culture. I cannot list it all here, but from the National Park Service website, I obtained the following information:AD 850 to 1250 Chaco Canyon served as a major urban center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Remarkable for its... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  Bc 50 is a small residential structure located just east of the Casa Rinconada Great Kiva and about one-half mile south of Pueblo Bonito. This rectangular building, also known as “Tseh So” (rock crystal in Navajo), had twenty-six ground-floor masonry rooms with four kivas... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  Bc 51, along with Bc 50, are “type sites” for Chacoan small house residences or villages. With about 45 ground-floor rooms and seven kivas, Bc 51 is very large for this building type. When Bc 51 was first excavated in 1936-37 by Clyde Kluckholn, an earlier structure was... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  Bc 59 is a small village located about 325 feet southeast of the Casa Rinconada Great Kiva. The site includes approximately 30 masonry rooms and five kivas. The Chaco Research Archive tells us that when it was excavated in 1947, the excavators noted a “refuse heap”... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  There is a short, spur road off the far northwest end of the 9-mile loop road. At the end there is a parking lot with trailheads to the Wetherill Cemetery, Pueblo del Arroyo, and the Penasco Blanco and Pueblo Alto trails. It is just a short walk (~100 meters) over to the... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  Kin Kletso (Navajo for “yellow house”) is a smaller great house with ~100 rooms and 5 enclosed kivas located ~450 meters from the Penasco Blanco / Pueblo Alto trailhead, ~500 meters northwest of Pueblo del Arroyo, and ~800 meters northwest of Pueblo Bonito. The kiva at the... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  On the back side of the loop road just past the Casa Rinconada Community parking lot, there is a pullover for the Chacoan Stairway. It was late afternoon when I arrived, so the sun was not in a good position for photos. The information sign tells that "The stairway was part... 

 shdw100 Says:  If you look close enough, there are some petroglyphs from the people that inhabited this area before. Of course, the park requires that you do not disturb this precious artifacts. They are facinating to look at and give at least some glimpse into the art and culture that... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  In Oct 2011 a new Visitors' Center was under construction at Chaco Culture National Historical Park; however, services and literature were still available in a temporary building. You must check in at the Visitors' Center when you arrive to get an entrance permit. It is hard... 

 AlbuqRay Says:  When I was walking through Chetro Ketl, I saw this interestingly shaped rock that looked like a hook. I am wondering if it is possibly an undiscovered artifact. I did not bother it since you are not supposed to touch or collect any artifacts, but I think I could find it... 

 shdw100 Says:  We visited the park in the winter, with the snow on the ground. But, with the elevation of the park, anytime of the year would be great to visit. It was a little cold in winter, but not unbearable. Spring would be wonderful with the desert in bloom, and summer not that hot...