Montezuma Castle National Monument, located near Camp Verde, Arizona in the western United States, features well-preserved cliff dwellings . Although built and used by the Sinagua Indians around 1400 AD, the first Europeans to discover it thought that they had been built by Aztec emperor Montezuma, hence the name.
The five-storey stone and mortar dwellings contain 20 rooms and once housed about 35 people. A natural overhang shades the rooms and shelters them from rain.
The dwellings and the surrounding area were declared a U.S. National Monument on December 8, 1906.
This is an easy monument to visit, a short distance off Interstate 17, exit 287. There is a paved trail of 1/4 mile from the visitor center along the base of the cliff containing the ruins. Access to the ruins themselves is not allowed. The monument has a second unit, "Montezuma's Well," to the northeast.
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