_12/20/10_ Cliff Castle
Today we left Sedona and headed South to Tucson. Along the way, we stopped at Montezuma Well and Montezuma Castle, about 10 miles apart. Both are misnomers, named by early settlers that thought they were Aztec when, in fact, the Aztecs never made it this far North. They were built by the Sinagua people, who vanished from the area 500-600 years ago for reasons unknown.
This is obviously the 'castle', not the well. It's 100 feet off the ground and would have had ladders to get to it when it was in use. Other ruins are nearby, but none as spectacular as these - 4 levels built straight into the cliff.
I'll post more photos in a separate gallery, but in case you're wondering what the well is - it's a sinkhole that's fed by underground springs, so there's constant water at the bottom. Sinagua ruins are all around the rim, as well as inside the well. Both stops are just minutes from I-17 and they're well worth the stop.
More photos!
[last year]
_12/20/10_ Cliff Castle
Today we left Sedona and headed South to Tucson. Along the way, we stopped at Montezuma Well and Montezuma Castle, about 10 miles apart. Both are misnomers, named by early settlers that thought they were Aztec when, in fact, the Aztecs never made it this far North. They were built by the Sinagua people, who vanished from the area 500-600 years ago for reasons unknown.
This is obviously the 'castle', not the well. It's 100 feet off the ground and would have had ladders to get to it when it was in use. Other ruins are nearby, but none as spectacular as these - 4 levels built straight into the cliff.
I'll post more photos in a separate gallery, but in case you're wondering what the well is - it's a sinkhole that's fed by underground springs, so there's constant water at the bottom. Sinagua ruins are all around the rim, as well as inside the well. Both stops are just minutes from I-17 and they're well worth the stop.
More photos!
[last year]