Hovenweep National Monument

Hovenweep National Monument. . Welcome to “Hovenweep.” It is a Paiute and Ute word meaning “deserted valley.” It was the name given this extraordinary place by pioneer photographer William H. Jackson, who visited here in 1874. It’s an apt description. As you scan the vast and lonely expanse surrounding you, it’s hard to imagine these solitary canyons once echoed with the cries and laughter of hundreds of men, women and children., Established as a National Monument in 1923, Hovenweep preserves what archeologists consider to be the finest examples of ancestral Puebloan masonry found anywhere. Whether multi-story towers standing alone along canyon rims, or ingeniously engineered structures perched on massive boulders and ledges within the canyons, these ruins evoke feelings of wonder at the motivations and resourcefulness of their builders., I think that Hovenweep is the most symbolic of places in the Southwest…Hovenweep give me a feeling similar to what I feel when I’m participating in ceremonies which require a tacit recognition of realities other than the blatantly visual. During those times I know the nature and energy of the bear, of rock, of the clouds, of the water. I become aware of energies outside myself, outside the human context. At Hovenweep, I slide into a place and begin to know the flowing, warm sandstone under my feet, the cool preciousness of the water, the void of the canyon, and the all covering sky. I want to be a part of the place. , Rina Swentzell, Pueblo Indian scholar, Santa Clara.