Hovenweep National Monument
The stone towers and walls of Hovenweep National Monument rise from the desert landscape. This monument is located in the remote Four Corners region along the border of Colorado and Utah. Hovenweep feels isolated even by Southwestern standards. Reaching this monument required traveling long stretches of quiet desert roads.
The name Hovenweep comes from a Ute/Paiute word translated as “deserted Valley”, a fitting description for this beautiful landscape. The ancestral Puebloan people built these villages between 1200 and 1300 AD, constructing stone towers, pueblos and ceremonial structures along canyon rims.
The carefully stacked sandstone blocks survived for centuries in an unforgiving desert environment. Archaeologists continue to debate how some of these structures were used. The towers were built with remarkable engineering skill. They were not crude shelters, but thoughtfully planned communities built by people with advanced architectural and cultural knowledge.
Recognizing its archaeological importance, Hovenweep National Monument was established in 1923 by President Warren G. Harding. Today the monument preserves the ruins as well as the legacy of the ancestral Puebloan people.
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