A Pictorial Guide to Mesa Verde National Park

A PICTORIAL GUIDE PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY— ANSEL F. HALL MAPS—SKETCHES BY DELLA TAYLOR HOSS & MERRIE HALL WINKLER
DESIGNED AND COPYRIGHTED BY ANSEL F. HALL PUBLISHED BY MESA VERDE CO., MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK, COLORADO A MIRRO-KROME ® PRODUCT LITHOGRAPHED BY H. S. CROCKER CO., INC., SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.
PICTURE MAP OF MESA VERDE AND THE “FOUR-CORNERS COUNTRY” OF THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES (Get detailed road map from any service station.)
CLIFF PALACE
MESA VERDE—the “green tableland” rises 1,500 feet above the Mancos Valley, here seen in its colorful October foliage. In the foreground, Highway 160 bears westward to the pioneer town of Mancos, 1 mile distant, and to the Park Entrance, 8 miles farther, just below the distant bulk of Ute Mountain. Beneath the bold promontory of Point Lookout the Park Entrance Highway can be seen climbing to the top of Mesa Verde.
THE PARK ENTRANCE HIGHWAY, paved and engineered for high-gear travel, begins its tortuous climb beneath Point Lookout shortly after branching south from Highway 160.
MESA VERDE—NORTH ESCARPMENT Air view of the “Green Table” not possible when named by Escalante in 1776.
AERIAL VIEW OF MESA VERDE
ENTERING THE PARK: Entering Mesa Verde is a breathtaking experience. Spectacular views confront the visitor as the road ascends for 5 miles to a high valley. This valley is an important activity center—the MORFIELD CAMPGROUND-VILLAGE complex. Just off the entrance road are 500 individual and group campsites, a 1500 seat amphitheatre, horseback riding and a shopping center. Approximately 10 miles past Morfield the road reaches another important point of activity. The National Park Service has located there the NAVAJO HILL VISITOR CENTER. On the gentle summit above the visitor center is the FAR VIEW MOTOR LODGE. On the road one mile south is Far View Ruin, a large surface pueblo important to the interpretation of Mesa Verde. The final four miles of the road descend gently through the forest to SPRUCE TREE, the Park Headquarters Area. The principal interpretative activity is here overlooking Spruce Tree Ruin, the third largest and, perhaps, the best preserved of the classical pueblo cliff dwellings.