The results are in: According to several entertainment and review sites, the historic Mesa Verde National Park in Montezuma County is the most popular attraction in Colorado. You obviously know that the dwellings are old and well preserved, but did you know these 12 other fascinating things?
1. Even though the sites were originally created around the end of the 12th-century, Mesa Verde was not designated a National Park until 1906.
4. One of the most recognizable dwellings is Cliff Palace, which is thought to date back more than 700 years and to have once been painted bright colors.
7. The elevation of the park varies from 6,000 to 8,572 feet. It is said that the Ancestral Puebloan relied on rain and winter snow as their water source.
11. Why did the Puebloans work so hard to create their cliff dwellings? It's because the dwellings provided protection against invading groups through the absence of ground-floor doors and windows.
