Aztec Ruins National Monument

Infobox_protected_area | name = Aztec Ruins National Monument
iucn_category = III

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caption =
locator_x = 81
locator_y = 101
location = San Juan County, New Mexico, USA
nearest_city = Aztec, New Mexico
lat_degrees = 36
lat_minutes = 50
lat_seconds = 9
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 107
long_minutes = 59
long_seconds = 53
long_direction = W
area = 317.71 acres (1.29 km²)
established = January 24, 1923
visitation_num = 39,538
visitation_year = 2007
governing_body = National Park ServiceInfobox World Heritage Site
Name = Chaco Culture
State_Party = USA
Type = Cultural
Criteria = iii
ID = 353
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 1987The Aztec Ruins National Monument preserves ancestral Pueblo structures in north-western New Mexico, United States, located close to the town of Aztec and northeast of Farmington, near the Animas River. Salmon Ruins and Heritage Park, with more ancestral Pueblo structures, lies a short distance to the south, just west of Bloomfield and near the San Juan River.

The buildings date back to the 11th to 13th centuries, and the misnomer attributing them to the Aztec civilization can be traced back to early American settlers in the mid-19th century.

The site was declared "Aztec Ruin National Monument" on January 24, 1923, and with a boundary change it was renamed "Ruins" on July 2, 1928. As an historical property of the National Park Service the National Monument was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Aztec Ruins was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, as part of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, on December 8, 1987.

References

* "The National Parks: Index 2001–2003". Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/azru/ National Park Service website]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/amsw/ American Southwest, a National Park Service "Discover Our Shared Heritage" Travel Itinerary]
* [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/353 UNESCO World Heritage site]