Mesa Verde, an Anasazi ruin in southwestern Colorado, is one of the World Wonders' "must see spots, according to National Geograhic Traveler. There are 4,000 ruins,of which 600 are cliff dwellings. The earliest known inhabitants, A.D. 500-750, being descendants of a people that lived in the Four Corners region .These people built subterranean pithouses and were known as Modified Basket Makers. Ruins, such as the one to the left, were multistoried dwellings that contained rooms for living , storage and ceremonial purposes. The ceremonial rooms were called "kivas" and were round. The tour of this ruin begins at the top of the mesa, to the left of the ruin, where a guide leads the way down a trail to the ruin. At the end of the tour the guide leads the way back up by a trail to the right of the ruin. The trails have several stairways and ladders in the descent and ascent but are not difficult to negotiate.
The size of some of these structures and the workmanship, considering the tools that were available, is incredible.
