Montezuma Castle National Monument

Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma´s castle in Arizona
(2021)
Map showing the location of Montezuma Castle National Monument
Map showing the location of Montezuma Castle National Monument
Map showing the location of Montezuma Castle National Monument
Map showing the location of Montezuma Castle National Monument
LocationYavapai County, Arizona, United States
Nearest cityCamp Verde, Arizona
Coordinates34°36′40″N 111°50′12″W / 34.61111°N 111.83667°W / 34.61111; -111.83667
Area859.27 acres (347.73 ha)[1]
CreatedDecember 8, 1906 (1906-December-08)
Visitors390,151 (in 2018)[2]
Governing bodyNational Park Service
WebsiteMontezuma Castle National Monument
DesignatedOctober 15, 1966
Reference no.66000082[3]

Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a set of well-preserved dwellings located in Camp Verde, Arizona, which were built and used by the Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian culture closely related to the Hohokam and other indigenous peoples of the southwestern United States,[4] between approximately AD 1100 and 1425. The main structure comprises five stories and about 20 rooms and was built over the course of three centuries.[5]

Several Hopi clans and Yavapai communities trace their ancestries to early immigrants from the Montezuma Castle/Beaver Creek area. Archaeological evidence proves that the Hohokam and Hakataya settled around or in the Verde Valley.[5] Clan members periodically return to these ancestral homes for religious ceremonies.

  1. ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved May 14, 2012. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
  2. ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  4. ^ "Montezuma Castle National Monument". Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference A Past Preserved in Stone: A History of Montezuma Castle National Monument was invoked but never defined (see the help page).