Cornering History Long Before State Boundaries Created The Four Corners Area, Puebloans Gathered In This Land

The Four Corners area is riddled with ancient archaeological sites. In this spot where four states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona — come together, ancient people also came together.

The ancestral Puebloans (the current preferred term for Anasazi) who lived in this area left numerous remains of their civilization. Each site has its special appeal.

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde, just outside of Cortez, probably is the most dramatic example. The site features five spectacular cliff dwellings, as well as mesa top villages, all built between 600 and 1300 A.D. Much was learned about the ancient dwellers when this site was excavated — how they lived, what they grew and ate, how they worshipped.

Although there still are many unsolved mysteries, this site — designated a national park in 1906 — has been restored to what it might originally have looked like.

Getting there: The entrance to Mesa Verde is off U.S. Highway 160, 10 miles east of Cortez and seven miles west of Mancos.

Hours: The park is open 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year.

Fees: $10 per car. Some tours are free. Others cost $1.35.

Amenities: The Far View Visitor Center is 13 miles inside the park. Tickets can be purchased here for tours of Cliff Palace and Balcony House (starting in mid-April). Lodging and camping are available.

Information: (970) 529-4465.

Ute Mountain Tribal Park

The park, located on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation near Cortez, has been preserved by the tribe to show visitors what cliff dwellings looked like before being restored.

There’s the feeling of uncovering a find as visitors descend by ladders onto the path that trails around the inside of the canyon walls.

Though the ruins have been stabilized, they clearly represent what the ravages of time and nature wreak on such places. Historic Ute wall paintings and petroglyphs remain largely undisturbed, because few visitors come to this secluded site.

Getting there: The Ute Mountain Tribal Park Visitor Center is 22 miles south of Cortez on U.S. Highway 666, at Tawaoc. Access to the ruins is by guided tour only.

Hours: By appointment.

Fees: $30 per person.

Amenities: Visitors are asked to bring a lunch and drinking water and use their own vehicles for transportation.

Information: (800) 847-5485.

Crow Canyon Center

The center works with a number of archaeologically significant sites just outside Cortez. It is a year-round research facility where volunteers come to help excavate ruins, extract information and artifacts, then backfill the site. The center also offers guided archaeological trips and one-day programs.

Hours: The museum and visitor’s center are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Fees: The museum is free.

Information: (800) 422-8975; or visit the web site at www.crowcanyon.org. For a free catalog of classes and programs, write: Crow Canyon Archeological Center, 23390 Road K, Cortez 81321.

Anasazi Heritage Center

Near Dolores, just north of Cortez, this world-class museum was constructed near the Dominguez and Escalante ruins. The center boasts 2.5 million artifacts.

There are many hands-on exhibits that even adults will love. A half-mile walk takes visitors out of the museum and to the two ruin sites, which were excavated in 1976.

Getting there: 10 miles north of Cortez and three miles west of Dolores. From Cortez, take Colorado Highway 145 north to Colorado 184 and turn west.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (closes at 4 p.m. in winter).

Fees: $3 adults; children free.

Amenities: There is a museum on site, and ruins are a short walk away.

Information: (970) 882-4811.

Hovenweep National Monument

This Utah monument, just 43 miles west of Cortez, was established as a protected site in 1923. Here, visitors can see six ruin sites, all built approximately 1200 A.D. An interesting facet of this site is the presence of unusual square, oval, circular and D-shaped towers.

Getting there: From Cortez, take the airport road (Road G) west and follow the signs for 41 miles.

Hours: sunrise to sunset daily

Fees: $3 per person or $6 per vehicle

Amenities: ranger station, campground.

Information: (970) 749-0510.

Aztec Ruins National Monument

This site in Aztec, N.M. - just outside Farmington - is, of course, misnamed. The ruins aren’t Aztec at all, but they are spectacular.

Here, visitors can enter the largest kiva they’ve ever seen, and the only reconstructed great kiva in the Southwest. It’s an awesome experience to descend into this sacred place and feel its coolness in the heat of the day and imagine it filled with people, smoke and the sounds of chants echoing off its walls.

Getting there: From Cortez, take U.S. Highway 666 south into New Mexico, to Shiprock. There, take U.S. 550 east to Farmington, then New Mexico 44 Aztec, about 14 miles.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except major holidays.

Fees: $4 per person, free to those under 17.

Amenities: A film at visitor’s center initiates newcomers to ancestral Puebloan culture.

Information: (505) 334-6174.