Bandelier National Monument - New Mexico
We got to spend a day exploring this gorgeous park and learning the history.
"Bandelier's human history extends back for over 10,000 years when nomadic hunter-gatherers followed migrating wildlife across the mesas and canyons. By 1150 CE Ancestral Pueblo people began to build more permanent settlements. By 1550 they had moved from their homes here to pueblos along the Rio Grande (Cochiti, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo)."
Why do the rock walls have so many holes in them? The pink rock of the canyon wall may look like sandstone but it is actually volcanic ash that compacted over time into a soft, crumbly rock called tuff. Tuff is very easily eroded by the action of wind and rain. Some components of the tuff erode more easily than others. Over time the exposed rock takes on a “swiss cheese” appearance. Ancestral Pueblo people used tools to enlarge some of the small natural openings in the cliff face. The soft rock made excellent building material. Stone dwellings were constructed in front of these enlarged openings. Read about it here.
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