NPS Photo

view of Upper and Lower Cliff Dwellings

For hundreds of years, rugged terrain, remoteness, and natural camouflage isolated and protected the cliff dwellings and the materials the prehistoric people left behind. These irreplaceable treasures were threatened in the mid-1870s, however, when Western expansion and the fascination with Native American artifacts found their way into Arizona's Tonto Basin. Recognizing the significance of the region to America's cultural heritage, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the site a national monument in 1907. It was expanded to its current size of 1120 acres in 1937.