4 notable sites ranked among the world's top 100
The ancient ruins of the United States tell the story of sophisticated pre-Columbian civilisations that built in stone, adobe, and earth long before European contact. The most architecturally impressive are the ruins of the Ancestral Puebloan people (formerly called Anasazi) in the Four Corners region of the Southwest. Chaco Canyon in New Mexico — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — was the political and ceremonial hub of Puebloan civilisation between 850 and 1150 CE. Its great houses are the largest pre-Columbian stone buildings in North America: Pueblo Bonito had over 650 rooms arranged over four to five storeys, with doorways and windows precisely aligned to solar and lunar events, including the summer solstice sunrise and the 18.6-year lunar standstill cycle. Mesa Verde in Colorado preserves the most dramatic cliff dwellings in the world: Cliff Palace, built inside a natural alcove in the canyon wall, had 150 rooms and 23 ceremonial kivas. It was inhabited from around 600 to 1300 CE, then mysteriously abandoned. Further east in Illinois, Cahokia Mounds — another UNESCO site — marks the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico, with a population rivalling contemporary London at its 1100 CE peak. Monk's Mound at Cahokia covers more ground than the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Chaco Canyon
North America's largest pre-Columbian stone buildings, aligned to solar and lunar cycles.
#20 WorldMesa Verde
Cliff Palace — 150 rooms carved into a canyon wall by the Ancestral Puebloans.
#72 WorldCahokia Mounds
America's greatest pre-Columbian city: Monk's Mound covers more ground than the Great Pyramid.
Cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans carved into sandstone alcoves. Cliff Palace has 150 rooms and 23 kivas.
UNESCO World Heritage, best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America.
The largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico. Monk's Mound is the largest earthwork in the Americas.
UNESCO World Heritage, largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico.
Chaco Canyon (Chaco Culture National Historical Park) in northwestern New Mexico was the political and ceremonial centre of Puebloan civilisation between 850 and 1150 CE. The canyon contains the largest pre-Columbian stone buildings in North America. Pueblo Bonito, the most studied great house, had over 650 rooms and rose four to five storeys — it was the largest building in North America until a New York skyscraper surpassed it in 1882. Remarkably, these structures were precisely aligned with solar and lunar events: doorways and windows frame the summer solstice sunrise, the equinox sunset, and the 18.6-year lunar standstill cycle. Chaco was a regional hub connected to outlying communities by a road network of 650+ km of engineered roads, some 9 metres wide, that ran in straight lines regardless of terrain.
UNESCO World Heritage Site. The greatest pre-Columbian stone architecture in North America, with buildings precisely aligned to solar and lunar cycles. Largest pre-1882 structure in the USA.
A multi-story Adobe dwelling continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years — the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America.
UNESCO World Heritage, oldest continuously inhabited community in North America.