Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in North America.
The Ancestral Puebloan structure is located in Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado. Built into a large sandstone alcove, it contains about 150 rooms and 23 kivas, ceremonial spaces used by Pueblo communities.
Archaeologists believe Cliff Palace was occupied during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. It was abandoned around 1300, as were many other settlements in the Mesa Verde region. Researchers connect the population movement to a combination of environmental change, drought, social pressures, and other factors.
Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason rediscovered Cliff Palace in December 1888 while searching for stray cattle. The site was later excavated and documented by archaeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes of the Smithsonian Institution.
Mesa Verde National Park was established in 1906 to preserve Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites. It contains more than 600 cliff dwellings and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cliff Palace is larger than nearby Balcony House and Spruce Tree House, which are separate dwellings.