Mesa Verde's earliest known inhabitants came to the area about A.D. 400 and built subterranean pithouses on the top of the mesas. During the 13th century, they moved into caves and built complex cliff dwellings. The dwellings obviously were a massive construction project, yet the Anasazi lived in them for only about 100 years, having abandoned the area by A.D. 1300.

Among Mesa Verde's archaeological treasures are Cliff Palace (the largest cliff dwelling in North America), Spruce Tree House, Square Tower House, Sun Temple and Long House. The cliff dwellings are accessible only when accompanied by ranger guides; there is an admission fee to the park. The park's archaeological museum is open year-round, as is Spruce Tree House. Other services include camping, lodging, food and gasoline (not available during winter months). For more information, contact the park at (970) 529-4461 or 4465.

o Ute Mountain Tribal Park, a 125,000-acre portion of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, is located south of Mesa Verde National Park. The tribal park includes hundreds of surface ruins and cliff dwellings that compare in size and complexity with those in Mesa Verde, as well as wall paintings and ancient petroglyphs.

To protect its fragile cultural and environmental resources, the park is accessible by guided tour only. Full and half-day tours, mountain bike and backpacking trips are available. The park is operated as a primitive area; no food, lodging or other services are available. For more information and fee schedule, call (970) 565- 3751 ext. 282.

o Hovenweep National Monument, located 45 miles from Cortez along the Colorado-Utah border, contains some of the area's most striking and isolated Anasazi ruins. The ruins of Hovenweep (a Ute word meaning "deserted valley") are characterized by their unique square, oval, circular and D-shaped towers. Its inhabitants were part of the Anasazi culture who, like their Mesa Verde neighbors, abandoned their homes by about A.D. 1300 and moved south into Arizona and New Mexico.

Hovenweep contains six groups of ruins, including Square Tower Ruins, the most impressive and best preserved. Limited camping is permitted on a daily fee basis; however, camping supplies, firewood, telephone service and gasoline are not available at the monument. The monument is open all year and is accessible by graded dirt roads. For information on weather and road conditions, contact Mesa Verde National Park at (970) 529-4461 or 4465.

The Anasazi Heritage Center, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, contains one of the world's major collections of Anasazi artifacts. Located 10 miles north of Cortez on Highway 184, the center is set into a hillside near the remains of the 12th century Dominguez and Escalante Anasazi ruins.

The center's 40,500-square-foot facility includes a large exhibit hall, 104-seat theater, museum shop and gallery for traveling and temporary exhibits. Exhibits include a re-created Anasazi pithouse and displays of selected artifacts. Other interpretive exhibits include a loom, corn-grinding implements, microscopes and interactive computer programs. Call (970) 882-4811 for information. All tours of the center and ruins are self-guided; admission is free.

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is an independent school for archaeological research and educational center whose primary goal is to unravel the mysteries of the Anasazi. It is one of only a few research facilities that actively encourages the participation of lay people -- with no previous experience -- to do research side-by-side with professional archaeologists.

Each year, people from throughout the country come to Crow Canyon for week-long educational programs that provide an introduction to the archaeological process, as well as hands-on experience in excavation, laboratory analysis and classification. Other specialized programs for high school students, elementary students and teachers have been developed.

While at Crow Canyon, participants live on site in either the dormitory-styled lodge or in one of 10 four-bed hogans. In addition to its excavations, Crow Canyon also sponsors several archaeological field seminars, as well as the Anasazi Symposia, a series of one-week, non-digging introductions to archaeology.

Cortez CU Center and Museum, located at 25 North Market Street in Cortez, offers a number of exhibits from various Anasazi sites in the Four Corners region, as well as an archaeological laboratory. The museum is open daily (except Sunday) during summer and on a more limited basis during the rest of the year. During the summer, museum offers an evening series of illustrated talks on archaeology and Native American culture. For more information, call (970) 565- 1151.

Lowry Pueblo Ruin, about 26 miles northwest of Cortez near Pleasant View, offers a self-guided walking tour of an abandoned Anasazi village constructed during the 9th century. It contains one of the largest painted kivas (54 feet in diameter) found to date. Admission is free; day camping is available.

Four Corners Monument, 40 miles southwest of Cortez, marks the only geogogical location in the United States where four states meet. Here, visitors can stand in the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah all at one time.

McPhee offers excellent fishing and is stocked annually with rainbow trout. The reservoir also is home to largemouth and smallmouth bass, black crappie, bluegill and channel catfish. For more information contact the Dolores Ranger District, (970) 882- 7296.

Dolores River/Lone Dome Recreation Area. The 11-mile catch-and- release stretch of river below the McPhee dam (to Bradfield Bridge) is one of Colorado's newest hot spots for cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout. To reach the Lone Dome area, drive north of Cortez approximately 26 miles on Highway 666 to Pleasant View, turn north on Forest Road 505 to Bradfield Bridge, cross the bridge and travel north for one mile, then take Forest Road 504 along the Dolores River to McPhee Dam. Overnight camping is allowed only in conjunction with designated overnight parking areas.

Conquistador Golf Course, an 18-hole, par 72 facility, is one mile north of Cortez from the junction of Highway 160 and Highway 145. Designed by J. P. "Press" Maxwell, the course features four lakes, rolling terrain and spectacular views of the La Plata Mountains, Mesa Verde and Sleeping Ute Mountain.

Conquistador is open daily from March 15 through Nov. 15, from 7:30 a.m. to sunset. Reservations are needed for summer week- ends. The course offers club/cart rentals, lessons, driving range, practice and pitching greens, pro shop, snack bar and golf pro on duty. Information: (970) 565-9208.

Cortez Municipal Swimming Pool, located at 803 E. Montezuma Ave., is a six-lane, 50-meter pool that offers diving from one-and three- meter boards. It is open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with open swimming from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is $1.50 for adults and 75 cents for children. Season and monthly passes are available.

Municipal Tennis Courts are located in the Cortez City Park complex at 811 E. Montezuma Ave., just north of the pool. Four fenced courts are open year-round; admission is free. Lights are available for evening play from March through November.

San Juan National Forest. The southern boundary of this 2 million acre forest is located approximately 12 miles northeast of Cortez near Dolores. The forest contains numerous campgrounds, picnic grounds and recreation areas, as well as fishing, hunting, hiking and backpacking opportunities. For information call (970) 882-7296.

Winter sports in the Cortez area include cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and ice fishing. At Mesa Verde National Park, skiing and snowshoeing are allowed along a six-mile loop road that encircles Chapin Mesa.

The Chicken Creek Cross-Country Ski Area, located approximately 20 miles west of Cortez, offers more than 50 kilometers (32 miles) of free, groomed trails for both diagonal and skate stride skiing, with a variety of terrain for all skill levels.

Another popular area for cross-country skiing and snowmobiling is the Lizard Head Pass area, 50 miles north of Cortez in the San Juan National Forest. Trails may be selected in varying degrees of difficulty.

The McPhee Recreation Area at McPhee Reservoir offers good conditions for beginning to intermediate skiers. Access to this area is off Highway 184 near the Anasazi Heritage Center. Ice fishing is a popular winter sport on McPhee Reservoir.

Known as the "archaeological center of the United States," Cortez is surrounded by a vast complex of Anasazi villages that once dominated the Four Corners area. Only 9 miles from Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez hosts many of the 800,000 annual visitors who come to explore the numerous ruins, excavations, museums and guided tours devoted to Anasazi culture.

The Cortez Welcome Center at Cortez is located on Main Street in the Cortez City Park. The center provides information on area attractions, recreation, shopping, accommodations and dining. The authentic southwestern style building houses custom crafts from area artisans as well as pottery and artifacts excavated from ancient ruins at the Ute Mountain Tribal Park.

During summer months, Indian dances featuring members of nearby Navajo and Ute Indian tribes are performed nightly at 7:30 p.m. at the Buford Wayt Cultural Park adjacent to the Cortez CU Center in downtown Cortez. Admission is free.

Cortez is home to some of the Four Corners' finest art galleries, including quality works by area painters, sculptors, jewelers and potters. Hand-crafted pottery by members of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe may be purchased at the pottery plant near Towaoc, 10 miles south of Cortez off U. S. Highway 160, or at Mesa Verde Pottery, two miles east of Cortez on U.S. Highway 160.

Long before Spanish explorers discovered the region now known as Colorado, ancient Pueblo people, or Anasazi (a Navajo word for "ancient ones") were building entire communities in the sandstone cliffs, mesas and valleys along the Mancos and Dolores river basins. A peaceful people, the Anasazi were hunters, farmers and traders who developed a complex civilization that lasted more than 700 years. Their culture, which dates to the time of Christ, lasted until about 1,000 A.D., when they disappeared from the region.

Archaeologists estimate that more than 30,000 people lived in the Montezuma Valley at the height of the Anasazi's occupation (A.D. 900- 1,000). As many as 100,000 Anasazi sites, many of which remain undiscovered, may exist in Montezuma County alone.

The exact reasons for the Anasazi's departure remain shrouded in mystery. However, scientists speculate that a combination of drought, crop failure and over- population may have contributed to their abandonment of the area. Their homes, condominium-like pueblos and cliff dwellings with round, underground ceremonial kivas, offer a fascinating glimpse into an ancient civilization. Many of their artifacts, including stone and bone tools and distinctively-painted black-and-white pottery, are on display in museums throughout the Cortez area.

Although Mesa Verde National Park remains the region's most prominent attraction, other, equally alluring Pueblo people sites draw thousands of visitors each year. Hovenweep National Monument (with its architectural masterpieces, the Hovenweep towers), Sand Canyon Pueblo, Lowry Pueblo Ruin, Dominguez and Escalante Ruins and the ruins contained within the Ute Mountain Tribal Park are easily accessible from Cortez. Others, such as Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, Aztec Ruins, Chimney Rock, Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, are within a day's round trip.

Cortez was founded in 1886, the result of an irrigation project designed to bring water from the Dolores River to the arid Montezuma Valley. First called "Mitchell Springs Settlement," the town's name was changed to Cortez in honor of famed Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez. During the late 1880s, hundreds of newcomers poured into the area to work on the irrigation project. In 1887, the first general store was opened, a school was established and many other new businesses sprang up. Following completion of an irrigation canal in 1899, Cortez became a center for fruit growing and general agriculture.

In 1906 Mesa Verde National Park was established and tourism rapidly became a factor in the region's economy. By the early 20th century the Montezuma Valley had become a major agricultural center, and ranching also began to prosper. Energy resources, including coal, gas and oil, played an important role in bringing newcomers to the area. Today, agriculture remains a major industry. Ironically, one of the most popular crops in the area is the newly-discovered Anasazi Bean, a multi-colored product with its own intriguing taste.

Completed in 1984, McPhee Dam marks the realization of a 100-year- old dream that began with early Montezuma Valley settlers planned to turn the area into an agricultural paradise. The dam, located on the Dolores River, created McPhee Reservoir, the second largest man-made lake in Colorado. McPhee Reservoir provides irrigation and municipal and industrial water to a large region in southwestern Colorado. It also offers excellent water recreation, including some of the state's best fishing.

In addition to exploring the numerous Anasazi sites which dot the area, visitors also come to Montezuma County for its outstanding recreational opportunities. The nearby San Juan Mountains provide magnificent scenery, as well as hiking, camping, fishing, winter sports and backcountry exploration. In town, more than 29 acres of parks, a 50-meter municipal swimming pool and a public 18-hole golf course make Cortez the ideal spot for leisurely vacation activities.

Visible from throughout the town, the high Mesa Verde (Spanish for "green table") entices visitors to discover the vast Four Corners region beyond Cortez that extends south into New Mexico and Arizona and west into Utah. Another favorite landmark is the Sleeping Ute Mountain, visible on the southwest horizon. This small range of peaks and hills takes on the appearance of a sleeping Indian warrior. The image is one of a man lying on his back, arms folded across his chest, and wearing a feathered headdress. The Utes believe he will awaken someday to conquer their enemies.