Popular tourism Palace in Mesa Verde National Park

Popular Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park. A severe drought from 1130 to 1180 led to rapid depopulation in many parts of the San Juan Basin particularly at Chaco Canyon. As the extensive Chcoan system collapsed people increasingly migrated to Mesa Verde causing major population growth in the area. This led to much larger settlements of six to eight hundred people which reduced mobility for Mesa Vdeans who had in the past frequently relocated their dwellings and fields as part of their agriculture strategy. In order to sustain these larger population they dedicated more and more of their labor to farming. Population increases also led to expanded tree felling that reduced habitt for many wild plant and animal spevies that the Mesa Verdeans had relied on further deepening their dependency on domesticated crops that were susceptible to drought related failure.



The Chacoan system brought large quantities of imported goods to Mesa Verde during the late 11th and early 12th centuries including ottery shells and turquoise but the late 12th century as the system collapsed the amount of goods imported by the mesa quickly declined and Mesa Verde became isolated from the surrounding region.

For approximately six hundred years most Mesa Verdean farmers had lived in small mesa top homesteads of one or two families. They were typically located near their fields and walking distance to sources of water. This practice continued into the mid to late 12th century they began living canyon locations that were close to water sources and within walking distance of their fields.

Mesa Verdean villages thrived during the mid Pueblo lll Era when architects constructed massive multi story buildings and artisans adorned pottery with increasingly elaborate desighs. Structures built during this period have been described as among the world's greatest archaeological treasures. Pueblo lll masonry buildings were typically occupied for approximately fifty years more than double the usable lifespan of the Pueblo ll jacal structures. Others were continuously inhabited for two hundred years or more. Architectural innovations such as towers and multi walled structures also appear during the Pueblo lll Era.

Mesa Verde's population remained fairly stable during the 12th century drought. Atthe start of the 13th century approximately 22,000 people lived there. The area saw moderate population increases during the following decades and dramatic ones from 1225 to 1260. Most of the people in the region lived in the plains west of the mesa at locations such as Yellow Jacket pueblo near Cortez Colorado.