Four Corners

Four Corners. . Ancient Valley Cultures , Their homes may now be less visible than the cliff dwellings of their Mesa Verde neighbors, but the ancient farmers of southwestern Colorado were far more numerous. By the twelfth century perhaps 12,000 people tilled the green canyons and plateaus of the Montezuma Valley, raising beans, squash, and corn. They lived in underground structures and, later, masonry pueblos; and they crafted fine stone tools, elegant pottery, and intricate baskets. Then, for several reasons , perhaps a long period of drought, perhaps the threat of hostile neighbors, perhaps depletion of natural resources , they left their villages around A.D. 1300. Archaeologists believe many of them migrated south, establishing new settlements, or joining existing ones, that gave rise to modern-day Pueblo culture., The Four Corners , The term "Four Corners” dates to 1868, when new territorial demarcations created America's lone quad-state conjunction. But nations intersected here hundreds of years before those boundaries were drawn. In the seventeenth century the four cornerstones were the Spanish, the Utes, the Navajos, and the Apaches: descendants of all are still here today. With its [illegible] climate and rugged terrain, the Four Corners region possesses a powerful mystique; as recently as the 1870s portions of the area had never been seen by non-Indians. Though mining, tourism, and agriculture all left their mark here during the twentieth century, the Four Corners remains imbued with a sense of the eternal. It is one of North America's most spectacular places, a land of unparalleled beauty and a rich cultural history., Captions , Top left: Petroglyphs in McElmo Canyon. Much rock art has degraded over time due to weather and to vandalism , even well-intentioned visitors can damage images by rubbing or touching the stone. The hand of vandals is apparent here. Colorado Historical Society , Right center: Excavating a site near Yellow Jacket, Colorado, c. 1975 Colorado Historical Society , Bottom right: Located northwest of Cortez, the Lowry Pueblo National Historic Landmark is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. This structure at the Lowry Paeblo is a good example of coursed masonry construction whose smooth edges and symetrically shaped sandstone blocks reflect a high degree of craftsmanship. Colorado Historical Society