More pueblos -- cliff dwellings this time

I drove downtown to the Flagstaff Visitors Center this morning for tourist ideas. 

The visitors center gave me brochures for a couple of downtown walking tours (I'll save them for another day), and told me about the Walnut Canyon pueblos, which are actually cliff dwellings! So I spent another afternoon looking at pueblos again, but this time they were built in steep Canyon walls.

Seeing the steep cliffs and limited footing around some of the entrances, I wondered how the residents managed to get in and out and get around. The ranger told me they used ropes and ladders if necessary, and that if they grew up that way then that was all they knew and they'd be used to it.

Some of the cliff dwellings look like they would be easier to access than others, though, due to some having natural walkways in front of the entrances.

This part of the continent used to be an inland sea a very long, long time ago, and as the water rose and receded, it left limestone or sandstone layers that were softer rock and got eroded over time. The eroded layers formed natural roofs and back walls for the pueblos. The pueblo builders Just needed to build the side and front walls.

The doorways were low enough to keep the heat out in the Summer and the cold out in the winter. The ranger said there is even some evidence the cliff dwellers in this canyon were snowbirds... living in south-facing rooms in the winter and north-facing rooms in the summer.

The eroded rock layers were even a good height for rooms!