Tuzigoot National Monument
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| Tuzigoot National Monument | |
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| IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
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| Location | Yavapai County, Arizona, USA |
| Nearest city | Flagstaff, Arizona |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 800.62 acres (3.2400 km²) |
| Established | July 25, 1939 |
| Visitors | 108,262 (in 2005) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
Tuzigoot National Monument, near Cottonwood, Arizona, preserves a 2 to 3 story pueblo ruin on the summit of a limestone and sandstone ridge just east of Clarkdale, Arizona, 120 feet (36 meters) above the Verde River floodplain. The National Park Service currently owns 58 acres, within an authorized boundary of 834 acres [1].
Tuzigoot is Apache for "crooked water", from nearby Peck's lake, a cutoff meander of the Verde River. Historically, it was built by the Sinagua people between 1125 and 1400 CE. Tuzigoot is the largest and best-preserved of the many Sinagua pueblo ruins in the Verde Valley.
Tuzigoot is located on land once owned by United Verde/Phelps Dodge. The corporation sold the site to Yavapai County for $1, so that the excavation could be completed under the auspices of federal relief projects. The County in turn transferred the land to the Federal Government [2].
Tuzigoot was excavated from 1933 to 1935 by Louis Caywood and Edward Spicer of the University of Arizona, with funding from the federal Civil Works Administration and Works Project Administration. In 1935-1936, with additional federal funding, the ruins were prepared for public display, and a Pueblo Revival-style museum and visitor center was constructed.
Franklin D. Roosevelt designated Tuzigoot Ruins as a U.S. National Monument on July 25, 1939. The Tuzigoot National Monument Archeological District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966 [3].
The ruins are surrounded by the tailings pond of the former United Verde copper mine at Jerome. The tailings have recently been stabilized and revegetated [4].
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[edit] See also
In the photo at left, the Verde River and Verde River Greenway are seen at 12 o'clock, just below the ruins. The old tailings pond (now revegetated) is to the right, Dead Horse Ranch State Park is just offscreen to the left, and the town of Cottonwood is in the background. The skyline is Mingus Mountain.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Tuzigoot nature & science
- ^ History of Tuzigoot monument
- ^ Harvey H. Kaiser, 2003, An Architectural Guide to the Southwest National Parks, Salt Lake City, Gibbs-Smith, ISBN 1-58685-068-7
- ^ "Tailings soon a thing of the past", Verde Independent, 6-4-2006
[edit] Gallery
 The Tower. |
 Tuzigoot from valley below. |
 Tuzigoot from sidewalk. |
 Closeup of walls. |
 Tuzigoot, viewed from across the old tailings pond, 1945 |
[edit] References
- The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.
[edit] External links
- Official NPS website: Tuzigoot National Monument
- Tuzigoot archaeology, at National Park Service
- American Southwest, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
- History of Tuzigoot monument. Includes a list of structures and artifacts on site.
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