Ancient history gets new digs

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Ancient history gets new digs

New Mesa Verde Visitor Center brings it all to one place

Mesa verde visitor center opening after more than a decade of fundraising, lobbying, etc. Offical grand opening is May 23 - we give folks a behind-the-scenes look before the festivities.Our appointment is 1 p.m.

Did you know?

In addition to displays, artifacts and maps, the Mesa Verde National Park Visitor and Research Center is full of interesting facts about the park.
It’s not actually a mesa (flat) but a cuesta, with a 7 percent grade.
That grade makes it warmer, so the growing season for corn and other crops for the ancestral Puebloans on top was 20 days longer than in the valleys surrounding it.
More than 5,000 archaeological sites from distinct periods between A.D. 500 and 1300 have been identified in the park.
About 600 cliff dwellings have been discovered, dating from about A.D. 1220 to 1300.
About 75 percent of the park has burned in wildfires since its establishment as a national park by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Fire destroys, but it also has helped archaeologists discover more sites and artifacts.
During the summer monsoon season, Mesa Verde can receive up to 100 lightning strikes in a 24-hour period.
The park is home to more than 200 species of birds, five amphibians, 16 reptiles and 74 mammals. Seep springs in certain areas provide a moist microclimate that allows moss, ferns and orchids to thrive.
In 1978, Mesa Verde was designated as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, one of the original 12 sites in the world to be so designated. More than 960 sites now are acknowledged on the list.
More than 572,000 people visited the park in 2011, creating an estimated $43.4 million in local economic benefit.

If you go

The grand opening of the Mesa Verde National Park Visitor and Research Center will take place at 10 a.m. Thursday. The center is off U.S. Highway 160 before the entrance to the park. Gov. John Hickenlooper will be among the dignitaries in attendance and will sign Senate Bill 13-270, Wildfire Preparedness and Emergency Response Funds, at the close of the ceremony. Entrance fees to the park will be waived Thursday to celebrate the occasion.
The archive and collection areas will be open for public viewing from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Memorial Day.
During the next week, the park is sponsoring activities related to the Indian Arts and Culture Festival. All will take place at the Visitor and Research Center unless otherwise noted. Events include:
7 p.m. Friday: Concert by the Four Corners Community Band at Morefield Amphitheater.
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday: Indian Arts and Culture Festival.
10:30 A.M. to 3 P.M. SATURDAY: Rug auction at the Morefield Store Patio.
10 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. Saturday and May 26: Pueblo Indian dances.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 26: Indian Arts and Culture Festival.
For more information, call 529-4465 or visit www.nps.gov/meve.