ANTIQUITIES OF THE MESA VERDE NATIONAL 



PARK 



SPRUCE-TREE HOUSE 



By Jesse Walter Fewkes 



SITE OF THE RUIN 



Spruce-tree House (pis. 1, 2)" is situated in the eastern side of 

 Spruce-tree canyon, a spur of Navaho canyon, which at the site of 

 the ruin is about 150 feet deep, with precipitous walls. The canyon 

 ends blindly at the northern extremity, where there is a spring of 

 good water ; it is wooded with tall piiions, cedars, and stately spruces, 

 the tops of which in some cases reach from its bed to its rim. The 

 trees predominating on the rim of the canyon are cedars and pines. 



The rock out of which the canyon is eroded is sandstone of vary- 

 ing degrees of hardness alternating with layers of coal and shale. 

 The water percolating through this sandstone, on meeting the harder 

 shale, seeps out of the cliffs to the surface. As the Avater permeates 

 the rock it gradually undermines the harder layers of sandstone, 

 which fall in great blocks, often leaving arches of rock above deep 

 caves. One of these caves is situated at the end of the canyon 

 where the rim rock overhangs the spring, which is filled by water 

 seeping down from above the shale. Another of these caves is that in 

 which Spruce-tree House is situated. Several smaller caves, and 

 ledges of rock harder than that immediately above, serve as sites for 

 small buildings. 



The wearing away of the fallen fragments of the cliffs is much 

 hastened by the waterfalls which in time of heav}^ rains fall over 

 the rim rock, their force being greatly augmented by the height from 

 which the water is precipitated. The fragments continually falling 

 from the roofs of the caves form a talus that extends from the floors 

 of the caves down the side of the cliff. The cliff-dwellings are 

 erected on the top of this talus. 



" The photographs from which plates 2-4, 6, 8-14 were made were taken by Mr, 

 J. Nussbaum, photographer of the Archaeological Institute of America. 



