Montezuma Castle National Monument Stock Photography

Montezuma Castle National Monument ancient Indian dwelling ruins near Camp Verde, Arizona, USA. The dwellings were built and used by the Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian culture closely related to the Hohokam and other indigenous peoples of the southwestern United States, between approximately 1100 and 1425 AD. The main structure comprises five stories and twenty rooms, and was built over the course of three centuries. Montezuma Castle is situated about 90 feet up a limestone cliff, facing the nearby 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, in part because of its ideal placement in a natural alcove that protects it from exposure to the elements. The Sinagua people farmed the fertile valley below.