Skywatch Friday: AZ Desert History

We made a quick trip to Arizona last week.  As a former NPS Ranger I'm trying to visit all the national parks and monuments in the West so I knew I'd find at least one on the trip. 

A national monument that I had never visited was Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.  In fact, I had never heard of this place until I asked Google if there were any national monuments nearby.

This structure is thought to be the largest of the Ancestral People of the Sonoran Desert.

The structure dates back to circa 1350.  Its walls face the four cardinal points of the compass.  There are holes in the walls that align with the setting sun of the summer solstice, and the sun at moon at specific times.

Originally it had four stories, but now only three stories remain.  It was discovered by a Spanish priest in 1694 who named it Casa Grande (great house).

The four foot thick walls were built with caliche which is a concrete-like mixture of sand, clay, and limestone.

Hundreds of saguaro ribs, juniper, pine, and fir trees were also used.  Analysis of those timbers showed they came from the Tucson area and were either floated down the Gila River or somehow carried to the site.

This area was a vast civilization.  Irrigation canals were built from the Gila River for farming purposes to support the population.  There were also ball fields for sport.

Casa Grande was the first prehistoric and cultural reserve in the U.S.  In 1918 it was declared a National Monument.  The protective roof was built by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. in 1932 to help protect it from the elements.

There are other remnants of the once bustling village.  In 1450 the site was abandoned for reasons unknown--maybe the Gila River dried up or it could be the gigantic floods that happened around that time.

The NPS works to preserve these walls by covering them with adobe every few months.

Of course we had to have a selfie.  My granddaughter did such a good job of listening to the presentation.  I told her there would be a short quiz afterwards (that's what happens when your Grammy is a former park ranger) and she did exceptionally well.

Checking out some Saguaro ribs.

If you're ever in the area stop by and learn a little history of the desert.  It's located about an hour southeast of Phoenix on highway 87/287.

Happy Skywatch Friday!