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Spruce Tree House Ruins, A Photo Gallery
Spruce Tree House is a large
archaeological site in Mesa Verde National Park, near Cortez, Colorado.
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Spruce Tree House is nestled in a deep overhang. The three story buildings
extend to the ceiling. This third largest cliff dwelling on Mesa
Verde has 114 rooms and eight kivas nestled in a 66 by 27 meter cave.
Cliff Palace and Long House are larger. Due to the protection of
the overhanging cliff Spruce Tree House had deteriorated very little.
The surviving kiva roofs at Square Tower House were used as models to restore
two kiva roofs at Spruce Tree House. |
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Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum and Spruce Tree House
are well-developed
for year-around visitation.
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Would-be photographers should visit the ruin in the late afternoon, when
sunlight enters the west-facing overhang. This view was taken near
sunset. |
Spruce Tree House is the easiest ruin to visit at Mesa Verde. A self-guided,
paved trail descends only 100 feet from across the canyon. |
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One of the restored kiva roofs, complete with a ladder, fills the foreground.
Note the T-shaped doorways. The small size of these passages minimizes
structural loss. |
In this image the kiva roof's supporting pilasters are visible. |
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External Links:
VIDEO on
The Archaeology Channel:
Mesa Verde: A CyArk Case Study
CyArk is preserving the world's most valued
cultural heritage sites in three-dimensional
digital form through laser
scanning and the most accurate 3D models possible today.
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