Bandelier National Monument preserves a broad archaeological and natural landscape in northern New Mexico associated with Ancestral Pueblo people from about AD 1150 to 1600. In Frijoles Canyon, they built masonry pueblos on the canyon floor and carved cavates into volcanic tuff, with major sites including Tyuonyi and Long House. Tree-ring dates place Tyuonyi’s main construction between 1383 and 1466, during a period of population movement toward the Rio Grande; by about 1600 these settlements were abandoned for nearby pueblos. Established in 1916, Bandelier also protects dramatic wilderness, notable Civilian Conservation Corps architecture, and a landscape still important to surrounding Pueblo communities.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

White Rock, New Mexico · USA