Montezuma Well National Monument

Montezuma Well, a natural water formation in the Arizona Desert.

Today we visited several beautiful sites where various bird life might be found. I had never heard of Montezuma Well, which is a small lake with very deep sides that is always filled with water. The source of the water is very deep underground, and the water flows out via a crack in the rocks far down below the surrounding rock cliffs. The geology, history, and beauty of the site are all impressive.

People of the Sinagua culture built dwelling places in the cliffs beside the water, and used the water for agriculture in the lower fields nearby. We walked around the area, as well as visiting several other mountain and forest sites in the area.

Montezuma Well is quite mis-named as the Aztec emperor of that name was years later and had nothing to do with the people who lived there and used the water. Several very ancient irrigation ditches can still be seen in the National Monument surrounding the very beautiful water source.