Chaco Culture

Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves one of the most important pre-Columbian cultural and historical areas in the US. The canyon that the Park is situated in was cut by the Chaco Wash over millions of years. Sacred to the Chacoan people, the landscape includes mountains, mesas and shrines that still have deep significance to their descendants. By 1050 Chaco was the center of a thriving economic center of the San Juan basin. It is suspected that climate change ended Chaco as the center of a widespread trading culture. The remains of massive stone architecture including elevated kivas and great houses are still visible, but many have been pillaged over the centuries. Today many of the mysteries of Chaco remain unanswered, but it is an important site to several Navajo clans.