Gila Cliff Dwellings
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The Gila Cliff Dwelling Monument is surrounded by the Gila National Forest. In the immediate vicinity of the Gila Cliff Dwellings, elevations range from 5,700 to about 6,000 feet. The terrain is rugged, with steep-sided canyons cut by shallow rivers; forested with ponderosa pine, Gambel's oak, Douglas fir, New Mexico juniper, pinon pine, and alligator juniper (among others); and usually dry.
The pictures below offer a glimpse of the homes of the people of the Mogollon culture. They were a small band of Native Americans 10 to 15 families, the settlement consisted of about 40 rooms. They lived here in the Gila Wilderness from the 1280s through the early 1300s. A period of only about 20 to 25 years. It is unknown why the Mogollon abandoned the dwellings. The surroundings probably look today very much like they did when the cliff dwellings were inhabited. |
