September 12, 2009
Spruce Tree House, one of the larger cliff ruins of Mesa Verde, Colorado, so called from a large spruce which grew on top of the ruins. This dwelling occupies a cave about two hundred and seventy feet broad and ninety feet deep. There is a limited supply of spring water in this district, and on this account tourists make their headquarters near by.
Another of the most important of the Mesa Verde ruins is that of the Spruce Tree House. This occupies a small canyon named ”Spruce Tree Canyon,” and was discovered by Richard Wetherill on the same day that he discovered the Cliff Palace. The name was given to this dwelling by Wetherill because of the great spruce tree which jutted out from the ruins. The valley or canyon itself is the home of a whole forest of spruce trees.
It is possible that this ruin contained, when completed, in the neighborhood of a hundred rooms; there is every indication that all the rooms were not built at once, but that a few were first built and that these were added to as the occasion demanded.
The Cliff Dwellers of the Southwest
The Pacific Monthly
May 1906
Information Links:
National Park Service – Mesa Verde National Park, Spruce Tree House, Self-Guided Trails
Wikipedia – Mesa Verde National Park
Wikitravel – Mesa Verde National Park
