Montezuma Castle National Monument – Camp Verde, Arizona
Montezuma Castle near Camp Verde, Arizona, is one of many cliff dwellings, and pueblos constructed by the Sinagua, a group of Native Americans that inhabited the Verde River Valley and areas around Sedona between approximately 500-1400 A.D. The largest of the pueblos had over 100 rooms. Montezuma Castle may have been home to as many as 50 people, and contains 20 rooms spread over 5 floors.
There is evidence to suggest that Arizona’s Verde Valley, through which the Verde River passes, was occupied for over 12,000 years (120 centuries) before the arrival of the first Spanish explorer Antonio de Espejo, in 1583. Over that time, numerous Native American peoples have left their mark on the region in addition to the Sinagua, including the Hohokam, Yavapai, Apache and the Hopi. The Hopi in particular, who now live largely in northwest Arizona, link their origin myth to Montezuma Well, a limestone sinkhole 11 miles northeast of Montezuma castle.