Southwest USA Trip - Wupatki National Monument
June 18, 2003
By Dan Hyde

Wupatki National Monument is several miles north of Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and was constructed by ancestors of Hopi Native Americans. The area was first settled after the eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano in 1064. The Sinagua people and their Ancestral Puebloan cousins realized that the volcanic ash had made the soil more fertile and consequently favorable for farming. They left the region in the early 13th century. The Wupatki Pueblo shown on this pages was built in 12th century and housed over 100 people. Parts of the buildings had four stories.

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Ruins of Wupatki Pueblo at Wupatki National Monument

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Snake Petroglyph at Wupatki Pueblo

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Several Rooms in the Wupatki Ruins

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View of the Surrounding Terrain

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Shows That Some of the Buildings were at Least Three Stories

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Detail of the Rock Walls

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A Lava Bomb Blasted Out of Sunset Crater Volcano was Used as Part of Wall

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The People Incorporated the Native Bedrock in the Structures

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An Ancient Ballcourt Where A Ball Game Was Played Similar to One Played By the Mayas.

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A Doorway in a Wall

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The View East from Wupatki Pueblo.
The Flag in Center Marks the Visitor Center.

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Closeup of Flag in Previous Image

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Jan Reading Guidebook

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Mary Jane Looking Back up Path From Ballcourt

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Lizard on Rock

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Scott Sitting on Blow Hole.
The Native Americans Consider Such Physical Phenomenon as Sacred.

Page maintained by Dan Hyde, hyde at bucknell.edu Last update July 19, 2003
Copyright © 2003
Daniel C. Hyde