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Historic Sites in New Mexico
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Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Established to preserve Carlsbad Cavern and numerous other caves
within a Permian-age fossil reef, the park contains 86 known
caves, including the nation's deepest limestone cave-1,567 feet
(478m)-and third longest. Carlsbad Cavern, with one of the
world's largest underground chambers and countless formations,
is also highly accessible, with a variety of tours offered
year-round. Established first as a National Monument on October
25, 1923, it was made a National Park on May 14, 1930. Carlsbad
Caverns National Park became a World Heritage Site on December
6, 1995. Special Notice: Flash cameras are no longer permitted
at the Bat Flight program. Please leave them in your car. For
information call: (505)785-2232
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
The canyon, with hundreds of smaller sites, contains 13 major
archeological sites unsurpassed in the United States,
representing the highest point of Pueblo pre-Columbian
civilization. Chaco is remarkable for its multi-story dwellings,
which required considerable planning, organization, management
and gathering of resources for their construction. The dwellings
show evidence of a knowledge of astronomy. The dwellings were
carefully oriented with the extensive road system. The roads
were engineered, not merely worn footpaths, and their alignment
shows planning. For information call: (505)786-7014
Fort Union National Monument
Fort Union was established in 1851 by Lieutenant Colonel Edwin
V. Sumner as a guardian and protector of the Santa Fe Trail.
During it's forty-year history, three different forts were
constructed close together. The third and final Fort Union was
the largest in the American Southwest, and functioned as a
military garrison, territorial arsenal, and military supply
depot for the southwest. Today, visitors use a self-guided tour
path to visit the second fort and the large, impressive ruins of
the third Fort Union. The largest visible network of Santa Fe
Trail ruts can be seen here. For information call: (505)425-8025
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Aztec Ruins National Monument preserves structures and artifacts
of Ancestral Pueblo people from the 1100s through 1200s. People
associated with Chaco Canyon to the south built and used the
structures, then people related to the Mesa Verde region to the
north used the site in the 1200s. The monument was established
in 1923, and designated a World Heritage Site in 1987. Acreage:
319.47. For information call: (505)334-6174
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument offers a glimpse of the
homes and lives of the people of the Mogollon culture who lived
there from the 1280s through the early 1300s. The surroundings
probably look today very much like they did when the cliff
dwellings were inhabited. It is surrounded by the Gila National
Forest and lies at the edge of the Gila Wilderness, the nation's
first designated wilderness area. This designation means that
the wilderness character of the area will not be altered by the
intrusion of roads or other evidence of human presence. Gila
Cliff Dwellings National Monument, containing 533 acres, was
established on November 16, 1907. Administration of the monument
was transferred from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the
U.S. Department of the Interior on August 10, 1933. In the
spring of 1975, the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest
Service signed a cooperative agreement whereby the Gila National
Forest is responsible for administration of the monument. For
information call: (505)536-9461
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