MESA VERDE
by
C. Marshall Finnan

Mesa Verde National Park, situated in the extreme southwest corner of Colorado, is a great rugged plateau upthrust by a capricious nature, more than a thousand feet above the floor of the adjacent plains. Geology tells us this colossal upheaval or elevation occurred many millions of years ago, after the cretaceous sea had drained from the area and the earth was still in the process of settling and adjustment.

During the intervening centuries rainfall and melting snows have eroded great canyons deep into the face of the mesa. High up on the side-walls of these canyons caves of varying sizes have been formed, some so small as to be of no practical use, others large enough to house a population of from five to six hundred human inhabitants. These natural caves of the Mesa Verde region have offered ideal homesites, from an economic as well as strategic standpoint, to primitive peoples. For this reason Mesa Verde has been inhabited by early Indian tribes from a date as remote as 1500 or 2000 B.C. through to the "Cliff Dwellers," last of the prehistoric inhabitants, who abandoned the area during the latter part of the 13th century.

In 1906 Congress created the Mesa Verde National Park to insure the permanent preservation and protection of these most notable and best preserved cliff dwellings in the known world. By its nature and reasons for existence, the park has always been primarily of an educational character, but only during more recent years, about the last nine or ten, have educational activities assumed their proper importance. During the early years of excavation and exploration the knowledge gained benefited only the favored few, but, with the inauguration of improved highways and the adoption of the automobile as the favored mode of travel, Mesa Verde is now accessible to all, and the information of the prehistoric inhabitants, which has been gained through many years of research and diligent study, now awaits every visitor.

The first publication of "Mesa Verde Notes" marks an important step in the development and advancement of educational work in the park. The word "nature" has been purposely avoided in the title of this pamphlet because we wish to cover the broader aspects of the Mesa Verde and its prehistoric human inhabitants, as well as its natural features and phenomena. Every effort will be made to obtain articles that carry some human-interest, worth-while story, whether it be of the prehistoric peoples, the modern Indian, or wild life of the park.

May we take this opportunity to send greetings to our many park friends, and particularly to express our appreciation to those whose efforts made possible the creation of the position of Park Naturalist, which will enable Mesa Verde to carry on a broader and more comprehensive educational program.