Chimney Rock National Monument in Archuleta County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)

The Great Kiva

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 15, 2020

1. The Great Kiva Marker

Inscription. Kivas or Ceremonial Houses were not only used for religious ceremonies but may have been used for governmental and social events as well. Kivas varied in size and had flat or cribbed roofs.

The cribbed roofs of kivas were constructed of logs laid horizontally and built up to form a dome with an access hole.

Aztec's Great Kiva has a flat roof that was supported by four massive pillars of mortar and wood. The roof was estimated to weigh 95 tons.

Erected by Chimney Rock Interpretive Association.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Religion & Religious Structures.

Location. 37° 10.482′ N, 107° 18.189′ W. Marker is in Chimney Rock National Monument, Colorado, in Archuleta County. It can be reached from Chimney Rock Road. Marker is on the Chimney Rock Interpretive Association gift shop's west wall. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3179 Colorado Route 151, Pagosa Springs CO 81147, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this

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marker is on the Continental Divide.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and at the Four Corners.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Ancestral Puebloans.

Other nearby markers. At least 7 other markers are within 12 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Chimney Rock Artifacts (here, next to this marker); Pit House Site (here, next to this marker); People and Place (approx. half a mile away); Welcome to Chimney Rock National Monument (approx. half a mile away); The Old Spanish Trail (approx. 11½ miles away); Chimney Rock (approx. 11½ miles away); Pagosa Springs (approx. 11½ miles away).

More about this marker. The US Forest Service is in the process of building a new visitor center which should be open for the 2021 visitation season.

Also see . . .
1. Chimney Rock National Monument. US Forest Service website entry (Submitted on November 21, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

2. Chimney Rock National Monument.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., October 15, 2020

2. The Great Kiva Marker

Chimney Rock Interpretive Association website homepage (Submitted on November 21, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

3. Chimney Rock National Monument. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on July 3, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 21, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 381 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 21, 2020, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.