Montezuma Castle National Monument

Montezuma Castle is a Sinagua Ancestral Puebloan dwelling built in the early 12th century. It's 5 stories high, contains about 20 rooms, and is built into a cliff recess one hundred feet above the valley floor. President Theodore Roosevelt declared it a National Monument in 1906 to protect it from further looting and decay. I visited it in Sept 1998 and again in May 2021. As is my custom I've included a few side by side photos from both visits.

Park Sign 2021

Visitor Center

Information Desk

Museum Exhibits

Well Stocked Gift Shop

Montezuma Castle

Construction Sequence

Montezuma Castle 1998 - film

Montezuma Castle 2021 - digital

Montezuma Castle 1998 - film

Montezuma Castle 2021 - digital

Castle Detail

Storage Rooms

Could be part of "Castle A".

Room Block

Diorama Sign

Diorama

Beaver Creek 1998

Beaver Creek 2021

Montezuma Well

Montezuma Well, a unit of Montezuma Castle National Monument, is a natural limestone sinkhole fed by underground spring(s). About 1.5 million gallons of water flow in and out of Montezuma Well each day. To get to Montezuma Well from the Castle take I-17 N to exit 293 and follow County Road 77 (E Beaver Creek Road) to the Well. The water of Montezuma Well contains high levels of CO₂ and arsenic and does not support fish life. However there are four invertebrate species found only in Montezuma Well - a small amphipod (a crustacean resembling a tiny shrimp), a species of leech, a water scorpion, and the Montezuma Well spring snail. The amphipod serves as food for the leech and water scorpion. Water from Montezuma Well was used for irrigation by the Sinagua and Hohokam Ancestral Puebloans. There are cliff dwellings, pueblo ruins, and an excavated Hohokam pit house at Montezuma Well.

Entrance Sign

Ranger Station

View east along Montezuma Well Trail

Montezuma Well

Sinagua Cliff Dwellings

Montezuma Well

Possibly Sinagua Ruins

Hohokam Pit House

Local Flora

The park service has installed some spiffy signs identifying various native trees and shrubs. I've included several of them in this next section.

Creosote Bush

Velvet Mesquite

Hedgehog Cactus

Cliffrose

Morman Tea

Broom Snakeweed