US-UT-Hovenweep+National+Monument


 * =Birding in Utah=

San Juan County
=Hovenweep National Monument= Montezuma Creek, UT 84534 Hovenweep National Monument website Hovenweep National Monument visitor guide and map Hovenweep National Monument area map

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Hovenweep NM
Coordinates: 37.3839007, -109.0735102 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

Tips on birding Hovenweep National Monument
From Utah Birders website

About Hovenweep National Monument
Once home to over 2,500 people, Hovenweep includes six prehistoric villages built between A.D. 1200 and 1300. Explore a variety of structures, including multistory towers perched on canyon rims and balanced on boulders. The construction and attention to detail will leave you marveling at the skill and motivation of the builders.

Hovenweep National Monument is not just a story about people. The natural environment -- plants, wildlife, geology, water, and soils -- supported the community that once lived here and remain important subjects for ongoing scientific study.

Hovenweep and its outlying sites are located on a portion of the Great Sage Plain known as Cajon Mesa. This region is defined by deep, wide canyons fed by shallower tributary drainages. Cajon Mesa tilts slightly to the south causing the ephemeral runoff from its canyons to eventually flow into the San Juan River. Aside from rolling expanses of sagebrush, Cajon Mesa's plant communities include pinon-juniper woodlands in the higher elevations to the north and desert shrublands to the south.

The foundation of Hovenweep's desert ecology is biological soil crust. This living ground cover contains many organisms, primarily microscopic cyanobacteria, which form an intricate web of fibers that bind soil particles together and help resist erosion. These tiny organisms also convert nitrogen in the air to a form plants can use, adding necessary nutrients to poor desert soils, and can store water after a rainfall. Stepping on dry soil crusts can crush the fibers, and damaged crust takes many years to recover. Please walk on trails, on rock, or in sandy washes (where water flows when it rains), and keep all vehicles and bicycles on designated roads. From Hovenweep National Monument website



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media type="custom" key="28994341" || L390443 US US-UT US-UT-037 37.3839007 -109.0735102 Hovenweep NM