Chaco Canyon

A World Heritage Site, Chaco Canyon has been considered to be the capital of Anasazi culture. This small canyon in northwest New Mexico was the center of religious, cultural and economic life for the hundreds of small towns of the San Juan Basin that thrived during the 10th through 13th centuries. Chaco has also been the northern most point on an ancient thoroughfare that has origins in northern Mexico and connected the Anasazi commercially to ancient Mexican cultures trading things such as parrots, shells, copper bells, turquoise and chocolate.

"Downtown" Chaco consists of several distinct villages, the largest of which, Pueblo Bonito, consisted of hundreds of rooms many of which were dedicated specifically to the religious beliefs of the Anazasi people.