Lifeline
Beaver Creek has always been a major focus of life in the Verde Valley. Prehistoric Sinagua farmers constructed Montezuma Castle and other structures near the creek. They dug ditches to carry creek water to irrigate the fields of . . . — — Map (db m40868) HM
Could This Stone Be The Opening to a Macaw Pen?
Where Did This Stone Come From?
Who Used It?
Why Is This Stone at Montezuma Castle?
Did the Ancient Sinaguans Possibly
Raise Macaws Here?
In the 15th century, near modern-day Casa . . . — — Map (db m40895) HM
A farming community of perhaps 200 people prospered here for more than three centuries. The Castle was home to 35 or so of these people. Archeologists suggest they may have fled what is today the Flagstaff area due to overpopulation around A.D. . . . — — Map (db m40840) HM
The Neighborhood
You can see Montezuma Castle and Castle A from here. If you look closely at the Cliffside, you might spot other ledges and caves used by the Sinagua.
The Sinagua people who made their homes here may have been a . . . — — Map (db m40869) HM
Here’s another “castle” – this one called “A” by the archeologists who excavated it in the 1930s.
Like neighboring Montezuma Castle, Castle A was occupied by Sinagua farmers between A.D. 1200 and 1450. However, with . . . — — Map (db m40863) HM
The Way Up
How in the world do you build a structure large enough to house 35 people high up on a steep canyon wall? Sound impossible? Here’s how Montezuma Castle’s ingenious Sinagua farmers managed it.
Pause a few moments to enjoy this view of Montezuma Castle. Don't you suppose it must have stopped the settlers and soldiers who first saw the cliff-dwelling over a century ago?
The odd name came from a mistaken belief that the cliff-dwelling . . . — — Map (db m40819) HM
