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Montezuma Castle, AZNational Monument |
Nestled into a
limestone recess high above the flood plain of Beaver Creek in the Verde
Valley stands one of the best preserved and easily accessible cliff ruins
in North America. The 5-story, 20-room cliff dwelling served as a "high-rise
apartment building" for prehistoric Sinagua Indians over 600 years ago.
Early settlers to the area assumed that the imposing structure was connected
to the Aztec emperor Montezuma, but the castle was abandoned almost a century
before Montezuma was born. Proclaimed December 8, 1906. Acreage: 840.86,
federal; 16.83, non- federal.
