1. Montezuma Castle National Monument 34°34'31.21"N, 111°52'58.53"W

1. Montezuma Castle National Monument

Our first stop on the virtual tour of Places of Interest in the Verdi Valley is Montezuma’s Castle National Monument. This national park is small, but boasts a twenty room cliff dwelling that begins fifty feet above the desert floor and rises to a height of 100 feet at the top. The cliff dwelling is ninety five percent original. It is light pink and tan in color. The exterior has been re-plastered using mud from dry Beaver Creek that runs (now dry) adjacent to the park on the left. The ancient Sinagua were believed to have lived in the cliff dwelling approximately 900 years ago. No one really knows what became of the ancient Sinagua. There are remnants of their lives that were found in the cliff dwellings and the area surrounding it. The National Park Service maintains the park. The park rangers give ranger talks daily describing the surroundings and giving insight into what might have been the daily routine of the ancient Sinagua. The park gets it name from the legend that Montezuma once stayed there hence the castle name. The park is maintained by the National Park Service.