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Chimney Rock Archaeological Area is a San Juan National Forest Archaeological Area located in Colorado between Durango and Pagosa Springs and managed for archaeological protection, public interpretation, and education.
Designated an Archaeological Area and National Historic Site in 1970, Chimney Rock lies on 4,100 acres (17 km²) of San Juan National Forest land surrounded by the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. The site was home to the ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians 1,000 years ago and is of great spiritual significance to these tribes. Their ancestors built over 200 homes and ceremonial buildings high above the valley floor, probably to be near the sacred twin rock pinnacles. Of the hundreds of individual sites dotting the landscape, researchers have thus far found 91 structures that may have been permanent structures, plus 27 work camps near farming areas, adding up to more than 200 individual rooms. Since the 1960s, Dr. Frank Eddy of the University of Colorado and others have studied the site, and research continues.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).
