Where: southwest of Colorado. It is very big, 52,121,000
acres. Mesa Verde is a Spanish word that means green table.
A mesa looks like a table because it is land that is flat on top but has
very steep sides. Some of the cliffs are 2,000 feet high.
Natural Wonders: park point, woods, view lodge, visitor
center, cliff palace, Mummy Lake, Spruce Tree House, Morefield Canyon
and Campground and the Anasazi Petroglyphs which are pictures on stone
cliffs that were made by the Anasazi Native People.
Anasazi: 1,400 years ago people called the Anasazi built
the city of Mesa Verde. The houses were like pits in small villages on
top of the mesa. They had to use ladders to get up to the top of
the mesas. Some people called the Anasazi cliff dwellers because
they lived so high up. The Anasazi were called the Basketmakers because
they made so many beautiful baskets. At first they hunted animals
and gathered berries for food. Later the men became farmers.
They grew squash, corn, beans and many other vegetables. They also
found out how to make pottery and arrows. When they painted their
pottery they used special designs for each family. Tools they used
were stone knives for cutting meat and plants, bones awls to make holes,
hide scrapers that were used to clean animal skins and a fire drill.
Their drill was not like our fire drills. they had a stick that turned
a hole to make a spark. Some of their pottery is still in the ruins of
the houses. They also did a lot of weaving. They used dog hair
to make things. Part of their village included a kiva. Nobody knows why
the Anasazi left their homes but some people think they used up all the
cropland. Mesa Verde became a national park on June 29,1906 because
the government wanted to protect the beautiful Native American rock paintings.
Park Rangers: Rangers take care of our famous lands.
Rangers are very friendly. They will give you a folder with a map inside
so you will not get lost. If you do get lost the ranger will find
you. They need lots and lots of vehicles to find people. There are
lots of visitor's centers. A ranger will be there to answer your
questions. You can go on a walk and the park ranger will show you
the animals and plants along the way. When you sit down beside the
fire a ranger will come to tell you a story about your park. They
might wear an old fashioned costume. If you want to be a ranger you
have to be good handling fires. If there is a plant destroying the
land a ranger might have to have a controlled fire to get rid of the bad
plants.
Animals: Two hundred kinds of birds live there especially
hawks, eagles and owls. You might see flocks of turkeys, squirrels,
snakes, coyotes, rabbits, mountain lions and tarantulas.
What Can You Do At The Park? There are lots of campgrounds
to stay in, you can hike, watch birds, bike, cross-country ski, horseback
ride, llama rides, go boating on the lakes and visit the historical city.
There is also a museum that shows the different things the Ancient People
used. If you visit the cliff houses you can go through narrow passageways
and staircases. |
