Just north of Mexican Hat, and east of UT-261, is the impressive fortification called The Citadel. Located in a niche that is perched above Road Canyon most likely looks no different today than it did 500 years ago. This desert wonderland in southeastern Utah holds a number of natural arches, towering sandstone cliffs and many mysteries of the ancients. Area visitors report pictograph panels, kivas, storage rooms and ancient living quarters.
   These archaic desert cultures, dating back 2000 years, have been slow to give up a true understanding of their past. The first Southwest inhabitants appear to have lived in open communities and farmed nearby fields where they grew corn, squash, and beans. They also hunted game and gathered wild foods. It's thought that these early tribes had few enemies. Ancestral Puebloans began to build the better-known cliff dwellings during a period from 1100 to 1300 AD. These stone cliff houses, some several stories tall, were easily defensible. For unknown reasons, near the end of the 1300s, Ancestral Puebloans sites were completely abandoned. Tree ring data from the 1200s indicated a prolonged dry spell, quickly leading to theories of extreme stress brought on by drought, overuse of resources and war. Recent climatological studies have shifted away from the so-called Great Drought, citing it was not bad enough to lead to such a large scale evacuation. So, one of the greatest mysteries of this Southwest culture continues.
   The Four Corners region offers some of the best preserved ruins in North America. The Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway, covering 480 miles in Colorado and Utah, leads to thousands of known archaeological sites. These well preserved ruins, spread throughout the Colorado Plateau, may one day offer answers to a strange disappearance of Ancestral Puebloans. Coupling together new studies on climate change with updated theories on religious and cultural shifts, we may someday learn the main reasons behind large population movements and their fresh start elsewhere.

     Utah Byway Map
     Colorado Byway Map