Montezuma!!

Montezuma Castle

Happy Monday and I hope everyone survived the Daylight Saving time change. Here in Arizona they do not recognize DST so we did not have to think about whether to fall behind or spring ahead! 🙂

I have lots of posts to write but will start with the most current and then go backwards a little — not only to let you know what we are doing, but so I remember what we did!

Today we went to 2 close tourist attractions — Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well. We were curious where the connection with Montezuma was to both of those and were waiting to hear a great story. Turns out Montezuma never visited either. Montezuma Castle is a set of preserved dwellings that were built and used by the “Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian culture closely related to the Hohokam and other indigenous peoples of the southwestern United States, between approximately 1100 and 1425 AD.
The main structure comprises five stories and twenty rooms, and was built
over the course of three centuries.”

“Neither part of the monument’s name is correct. When European-Americans
first observed the ruins in the 1860s, by then long-abandoned, they named
them for the famous Aztec emperor Montezuma in the mistaken belief that he
had been connected to their construction .In fact, the dwelling was abandoned more than 40 years before Montezuma was born, and was not a “castle” in the traditional sense, but instead functioned more like a “prehistoric high rise apartment complex”, as many families lived there.” (Source: Wikipedia)

There are other dwellings further down from the “castle”, including one that was believed to be destroyed by fire and so little remained.

The Verde River flows through this area and it was believed that was a major factor for the location of the dwellings.

Some other interesting sights included the sycamore tree and a large caterpillar, along with numerous plants that were often used for medicinal purposes.

Montezuma Well

About 5 miles to the south was another national monument – Montezuma Well. It is considered an “oasis in a harsh desert, home to species found nowhere else.”

This too had some indications of dwellings and this was one of about 40 to 60 villages that were in the valley.

Even though this area only receives about 13 inches of rainfall each year, the Well contains over 15 million gallons of water. Every day the Well is replenished with 1.5 million gallons of new water. It is all fed through a subterranean waterway with one of the outlets visible by a side trail.

The view of the Well was very amazing, but the life within the well, and the story of the interactions of this life was really fascinating. As described in the National Park flyer: The water contains arsenic, and high amount of carbon dioxide mean no fish can live here as they simply cannot breathe. In the absence of fish, five species have evolve here that exist nowhere else on the planet!! (This is a drawing from the National Park brochure!!) 🙂

The water may seem peaceful, but night after night, three of these species act out a life-and-death drama beneath the waves. At the center of the action is the tiny amphipod. This crustacean looks like a shrimp but is no bigger than your smallest fingernail. During the day, the amphipods swim and feed near the center of the Well, just out of reach of diving ducks and predators. At night though, while those hunters sleep, a new threat rises from below — leeches. These endemic invertebrates do not suck blood like other of their species; they eat amphipods! The amphipods flee to the surface and toward the water’s edges, only to encounter yet another predator, the water scorpion. In the pondweed surrounding the water, the amphipods must remain still as they can to avoid detection until the sun rises again! (Source: National Park Service – Montezuma Well)

That really is all very creepy like something from a sci-fi movie!!! They had pictures along the path of divers that recently went in to this very dark and murky water to discover first hand some of these unique species!! No thank you!!!

The Well was surrounded by mountain ranges and was a beautiful drive to the visitor center.