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.
