Montezuma’s Castle and Well

Montezuma’s Castle is another well-preserved ancient dwelling in northern Arizona, near Sedona.  The name is a double misnomer, as there is no connection between the dwelling and the Aztec Indians, as was thought when the name was bestowed; in addition, it is not a “castle” belonging to one family, but rather a 5 story, 20 room “high-rise apartment”, housing as many as 35 or more of the Sinagua Indians.

Built into a limestone cliff 70 feet above the ground, the structure is an architectural wonder.  This drawing is on one of the interpretive signs.  Can you imagine the labor involved to construct the dwelling, and then, how hard it would be to have to maneuver the ladders every time you left home for food or water? 

The public is not allowed any closer than the path below the structure, but even from there, you could see some of the original wooden beams in the walls.

The atmosphere near the cliff dwellings seems cool compared to the nearby desert, as a creek runs through the valley, supplying water for huge sycamores and other plants.  

The inhabitants had close neighbors.  Just a few feet away once stood an even larger dwelling, with 45 rooms and an occupancy of 100 or more. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed most of it in the 1400’s, not leaving much to see, other than the remains of some of the walls.

A small building with a glass front houses a diorama cross section of how the interiors may have looked.

Less than 10 miles away is Montezuma’s Well, a funnel shaped limestone sink.  The only connection between the two sites are the similar names, although I would think there would have been times when the creek at Montezuma’s Castle would have run dry, and they would have made the trek to the well for water. 

Fifty five feet deep and 368 feet across, this body of water in the middle of the desert, fed by underground springs, never goes dry.  Astonishingly, a million and a half gallons of fresh water flow into the sink daily; an irrigation canal, dug sometime between 900 and 1400 AD, provides an outlet for the water.

Several dwellings are visible from the top, perched on the rocky bank of the well.     

A footpath leads down to the level of the water, where the remains of another dwelling are visible. 

The terrain is rough,

home now only to those needing the water source.

Once back on top, we continued on to the back side of the well.  There, you can descend again to the bottom of the bank. 

The largest sycamore tree in Arizona lives in the shade here, probably gaining its status due to the unending water supply. 

You walk along the irrigation canal formed so many years ago.. 

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The V Bar V Petroglyph site is only open Friday through Sunday each week;  it was Friday, and we were told by a park ranger we shouldn’t miss it.  The largest known petroglyph site in the Verde Valley, it was acquired by the National Forest Service recently, in 1994.

Accessible by either the shorter gravel road from the well site, or by pavement, we first tried the gravel, only to find it a very bad “washboard” and backtracked to use the paved road.  Even it narrowed as we went on, and the last little bit was gravel.

The site is located on an old ranch, hence it’s name.  A one mile loop trail leads you  past the home site, through the field.  

Had we not just seen Newspaper Rock in southern Utah (see our post on Canyonlands) we might have been more impressed with this site, but the figures are hard to see, and many are obscured by a fungal growth.  Still, there is an impressive number of petroglyphs.

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Other ancient ruin sites nearby are Tuzigoot and Walnut Canyon National Monuments.  Those we’ll save for another trip.