Which U.S. national park preserves cliff dwellings built by Ancestral Puebloans? The answer is Mesa Verde National Park.
Mesa Verde, in southwestern Colorado, preserves thousands of archaeological sites, including hundreds of cliff dwellings built in natural alcoves beneath canyon walls. The best-known structures include Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and Long House. Their sandstone masonry, plastered walls, kivas, towers, and tightly packed rooms reveal sophisticated community planning.
Ancestral Puebloans lived across the Mesa Verde region for centuries. Cliff-dwelling construction expanded during the 13th century, when communities gathered in defensible alcoves. By the end of that century, people largely left the region, likely because of interacting pressures including drought, resource stress, and social change. Their descendants remain part of living Pueblo communities today.
Mesa Verde became a national park in 1906 and was the first U.S. national park created primarily to protect cultural resources. Chaco Culture and Bandelier also preserve Ancestral Puebloan sites, but Mesa Verde is the canonical answer for the famous concentration of cliff dwellings.