Montezuma Castle National Monument

Banner image by Tomas Castelazo, via Wikimedia Commons

Well, it’s not a castle, and Montezuma never lived there…but it is one of the more picturesque and well-preserved cliff dwellings in Arizona. People archaeologists associate with the Sinagua archaeological culture built the striking 20-room dwelling in the 1200s. Visitors can also see parts of the many-roomed “Castle A.”

Numerous sites are protected by the monument, including Montezuma Well, through which more than 1.5 million gallons of water flow every day. This rate that has not fluctuated measurably, despite recent droughts throughout the state of Arizona. The water enters a “swallet” near the end of the trail into the Well and flows through 150 feet of limestone before re-emerging from the outlet into an irrigation ditch on the other side. Sections of this ditch date back over 1,000 years.