Chaco Culture National Historical Parkarea of Native American
ruins in northwestern New Mexico, U.S. It is situated some 45
miles (70 km) south of Bloomfield and about 55 miles (90 km)
northeast of Gallup. The park was established in 1907 as Chaco
Canyon National Monument and was redesignated and renamed in
1980; it became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. The park
occupies an area of 53 square miles (137 square km), which
consists of a canyon dissected by the Chaco and Gallo washes.
The name probably derives from the Spanish word chaca, which may
be a translation of a Navajo word for canyon. The site was an
administrative, economic, and ceremonial centre of the Ancestral
Pueblo (Anasazi) people from AD 850 to 1250. The Ancestral
Pueblos (Anasazi) were ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians.
The buildings are known for their sophisticated architecture and
are connected by a series of straight, wide roadways that
radiate outward like spokes on a wheel. They were also once
connected to dozens of other sett