Bandelier National Monument located near Los Alamos, New Mexico is a site of ancient ruins. After learning more about this beautiful historic area you'll want to plan a vist.
Bandelier National Monument in north-central New Mexico is just a scant five miles from Los Alamos and if you are driving from the Santa Fe area it should take you about an hour for traveling time. A presidential proclamation in l9l6 established the area as Bandelier National Monument. In l932 the administration was transferred to the National Park Service. The Civilian Conservation Corps in the years of l934 to l937 stabilized the ruins and constructed a visitor center.
This Monument consists of 26,000 acres on the Pajarito Plateau that is near the eastern flank of the Jemez Mountains. Elevations will range from 5,320 to l0,000 feet above sea level in the area. The National Wilderness Preservation System has protected this area "to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness." There are numerous mesas, three large canyons and many secondary canyons. The trees will vary from pinyon-juniper to ponderosa pine in this high-desert country and even to aspen mixed conifer in the mountains.
Volcanic activity of many years ago has left much of this area with compacted volcanic ash. This volcanic ash is called Bandelier Tuff. Dark basalts are under this tuff on the eastern portion of the monument. The Pajarito Plateau had repeated flows of ash causing degrees of ash particles. The cliffs have columnar cracks caused by shrinkage. The plateau has many beautiful columns and vertical cliffs due to weathering.
The weather can change very suddenly in this high desert area due to cold and very strong winds, violent snowstorms and very strong thunderstorms occurring in the spring. In the fall the weather is at its best with beautiful fall colors to be seen. It can be warm in the daylight hours then freezing at night so one would need to be prepared. The coldest month of the winter is January. The Pajarito Plateau often has heavy snowfall so if one were to be hiking or camping there are necessary preparations. Lightning storms and electrical storms can occur at anytime in the Northern part of New Mexico so precautions need to be taken until storms pass. It is necessary to bring warm clothing, hot fluids and enough food and water for hiking or camping.
Bandelier National Monument is named for Adolph Bandelier (l840-l914). He was of Swedish decent although he was American and was widely known as a writer, archeologist and ethnologist. He was very interested in the Pueblo Indians cultures of the American southwest and he conducted research in Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico during the years of l880-89. He was very familiar with the customs of the Pueblo Indians in the area of the monument and had visited this area at least five times. He lived in one of the kivas of Frijoles Canyon to study the ruins. The Delight Makers was the name of the novel that Adolph Bandelier wrote about the life of the early twea in Frijoles canyon.
An author and definitely an adventurer named Charles Lummis (l859-1928} met Adolph Bandelier in l888 and they kept in touch for many years. He was the editor of a newspaper in Ohio when he decided to venture to the West. He was very helpful with the Indians in obtaining their rights and he established the School of American Research in Santa Fe. He considered the Indians of New Mexico his friends. He wrote a book called, The Land of Poco Tiempo, that has a chapter set in the Bandelier National Monument.
Excavations occurred in the early l900's that attempted to determine the life of the prehistoric people in the area. Campsites revealed that Archaic-phaser-gatheres as far back as 1750 B.C. were in the area. By 1705 B.C. many Indian farmers lived in the area and this is called the Coalition Phase. These dwellings were very small as compared to larger dwellings. Artifacts of the Classic Phase (A.D. 1200 to circa A.D. 1600) were recovered by excavation in this area. Pottery was discovered such as glazed crafting. There were two languages spoken during the occupancy of the pueblo people such as the Keres and the Tewa. Even today Keres is the language in the San Felipe, Santo Domingo and Cochiti pueblos. Frijoles canyon was abandoned by l600 and the east end of this canyon was only reoccupied in a Pueblo Revolt in 1680.
As you enter the Bandelier National Monument you will see a Monument headquarters located in frijoles Canyon with a paved road leading to the Visitor center. There will be three trails that you can take to explore a portion of the Monument.
The Ruins Trail contains the ruins of the pueblo of Tyuonyi that was at one time three stories high. The Tewa called this ruin Puqwige'onwikeji, "old-puelbo where the bottoms of the pottery vessels were smoothed thin." A large kiva that has been excavated is located there and is known as a ceremonial chamber. There are two series of cliff dwellings that lie at the south cliff. Many variations of plants, birds and mammals are on plaques as you walk upon this trail.
The falls Trail takes you down the canyon of the Rito de los frijoles. As you walk upon this path you can see layers of Bandelier Tuff, volcanic rocks and sedimentary layers. This trail will start at the Visitor Center parking lot and eventually go down to a stream level. A wooded area will be approached about a mile into the trail with a northern most wall of orange tuff in sections of black basalt. As you walk into the lower canyon the geology will change and you will no longer see the orange tuff. The walls will have striped patterns. On the east wall of Frijoles Canyon there is a red stone from hot lava flowing and the tuff being oxidized. The canyon has lots of trees that are tall and deciduous especially cottonwoods. You will see many shrubs such as the box elder, the New Mexico olive, and the Capulin. There will be many species of sagebrush along the trail. Eventually you will reach the Lower Falls where the trail can become very rocky and rough.
Another of the three trails from the Visitor Center will be the trail up Frijoles Canyon to Upper Crossing that consists of six miles. This trail can be very strenuous. As you walk you may see
Various rodents, especially the Sciurus abertis squirrel, having a gray body, tasseled ears and a long tail. In the winter the Canyon floor will be covered with snow. This trail goes south into the Bandelier Wilderness and then north to Ponderosa Campground.
The ceremonial Cave is located a mile west of the Visitor Center and can be reached by a series of ladders. In l910 this cave was escavated and restored by the Hewett studies. This cave represents the day to day activities of the pueblo people and is very important to this area.
There are many trails that one might hike such as the Frey Trail, Tyuonyi Overlook Trail, Burnt Mesa Trail, Apache Spring Trail and the Tsankawi Trail. When you visit the Visitor Center there are many brochures and information available as to the trails. Be sure to let them know when you plan to walk on the foremost trails and when you plan to return in case your safety is involved.
The Ponderosa Campground is available for camping within the Bandelier National Monument with trail heads from the campground. It is wise to obtain the weather in the area before attempting to hike on long trails. This is a beautiful and very education Monument to visit and once you see even part of the area you will want to make plans to stay longer on your next visit.
