Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a well-preserved cliff dwelling located in Camp Verde, Arizona. The National Monument also protects and preserves the Castle A site, a dwelling site located near the cliff dwelling.
The construction of the Montezuma Castle and Castle A sites are both attributed to the Southern Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian archaeological culture.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the dwelling was constructed as early as 1125 AD and occupied until as late as 1395 AD.
Montezuma Castle is situated about 90 feet up a sheer limestone cliff, facing the adjacent Beaver Creek, which drains into the perennial Verde River just north of Camp Verde. It is one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America. Access into the structure was most likely permitted by a series of portable ladders, which made it difficult for enemies to penetrate the natural defense of the vertical barrier.
After the short visit to the visitor center museum and the trail that overlooks the cliff dwelling we drove towards the nearby Montezuma Well.
Montezuma Well is a detached unit of Montezuma Castle National Monument. It is a natural limestone sinkhole, through which some 1,500,000 US gallons of water emerge each day from an underground spring.
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