Near Nageezi in San Juan County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Kin Kletso

Photographed by James Hulse, March 26, 2025

1. Kin Kletso Marker

Inscription. Study the walls. The masonry style and the stones themselves differ from those used in earlier buildings. Most of Kin Kletso was built relatively late in Chaco's construction history, when architectural traditions began to change.

Kin Kletso is a compact, rectangular unit, constructed in a single building episode, between A.D. 1120 and 1130. The site lacks the D-shaped floor plan, enclosed plaza, great kiva, and other features associated with Pueblo Bonito and earlier Chacoan great houses.

The masonry style of Kin Kletso, New Alto, Casa Chiquita, and other late sites closely resembles that of the Mesa Verde region, reflecting the sharing of ideas and customs with northern neighbors in the A.D. 1100s and 1200s.

Captions
(Photo #1) Kin Kletso masonry
(Photo #2) Pueblo Bonito masonry
(Photo #3) View of Kin Kletso from Pueblo A Trail

Erected by Chaco Culture National Historical Park, National Park Service and U.S. Department of the Interior.

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

Location.

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36° 3.893′ N, 107° 58.188′ W. Marker is near Nageezi, New Mexico, in San Juan County. It is on Pueblo’s Servive Route 14 (Pueblo Alto Trail) ¾ mile west of North Side Loop, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located at the Kin Kletso archeological site in Chaco Canyon. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Nageezi NM 87037, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in New Mexico’s Navajo Nation

and in the San Juan Basin.

It is also in the American Southwest,

in the Mountain West,

in Colorado Plateau,

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 New Spain.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pueblo Alto Trail (within shouting distance of this marker); Wetherill Cemetery (approx. 0.3 miles away); Chaco Culture (approx. 0.6 miles away); Pueblo Bonito (approx. 0.7 miles away); Chetro Ketl (approx. ¾ mile

Kin Kletso and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 26, 2025

2. Kin Kletso and Marker

away); Casa Rinconada Community (approx. 0.9 miles away); Chacoan Stairway (approx. 1.1 miles away); Chaco: A World Heritage Site (approx. 4.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nageezi.

Also see . . . The Center of an Ancient World. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

Explore the monumental structures and breathtaking landscape at Chaco, a thriving regional center for the ancestral Pueblo people from 850 to 1250 CE (Common Era), through guided tours, hiking & biking trails, evening campfire talks, night sky programs, and more. Chaco Canyon is a sacred and deeply personal place for many Indigenous peoples throughout the Southwest. Please visit with respect.

(Submitted on April 17, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The view of the Kin Kletso and Marker along the trail image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 26, 2025

3. The view of the Kin Kletso and Marker along the trail

Closeup of the Kin Kletso archaeological site image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 26, 2025

4. Closeup of the Kin Kletso archaeological site

Credits. This page was last revised on April 17, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 15, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 153 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 17, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.