Hovenweek National Monument — Doug Niedermiller Photography

Hovenweep National Monument South Eastern Utah

Hovenweep means “deserted Valley”. The four corners area was settled by ancestral Puebloan people sometime between 500 A.D. and 1300 A.D. This was an agricultural society that grew crops in the fertile soil above the Mesa. Most of the buildings we see today were built between 1200 A.D. and 1300 A.D. These are the same people that also settled in the Mesa Verde area. The ancestors of these people are still in the four corners area known as the Zuni and Hopi Native Americans. Southeast Utah is part of the Colorado Plateau, a high desert. Spring and fall are probably the best times to visit Hovenweep National Monument when the daytime temperatures on average are between 60 to 80°F and the lows between 30 to 50°F. Summertime temperatures can often exceed 100°F and in the winter the temperatures can drop to 0°F. This is an easy one day trip if you are visiting Mesa Verde National Park. The architecture at Hovenweep consist of square round and D shaped towers. Great photographic opportunities await the photographer that visits this incredible site.