USA 1934. Mesa Verde. The stamp is part of the National Parks Issue.

A great concentration of ancestral Pueblo Indian dwellings, built from the 6th to the 12th century, can be found on the Mesa Verde plateau in south-west Colorado at an altitude of more than 2,600 m.
Some 4,400 sites have been recorded, including villages built on the Mesa top.

There are also imposing cliff dwellings, built of stone and comprising more than 100 rooms.

Mesa Verde National Park is located in southwestern Colorado, established in 1906. Mesa Verde (Spanish for “green table”) is so called because of the thick forests of green juniper and piñon trees that cover its level summit. The mesa rises abruptly from the Mancos and Montezuma valleys to an elevation of 600 m (2,000 ft) above the valley floor and reaches a maximum height of 2,600 m (8,500 ft) above sea level. Numerous canyons scar the surface of the mesa top, and in the precipitous walls of the canyons are large alcoves containing the remains of the multistory cliff dwellings.

The most notable of the cliff dwellings are Cliff Palace in Cliff Canyon, which contains more than 200 rooms and 23 kivas (ceremonial chambers); Spruce Tree House in Spruce Tree Canyon, with 114 rooms and 8 kivas; and Balcony House in Soda Canyon, a small cliff dwelling of 38 rooms and 2 kivas. Other sites are found on the mesa top. Park facilities include two museums, with exhibits illustrating the life, customs, and arts of the ancient occupants of the mesa.

The ancient inhabitants of Mesa Verde were an agricultural people. The earliest inhabitants moved onto the mesa about AD 600 and lived on the mesa tops and in the alcoves from AD 600 to AD 1300. These people were the ancestors of the modern-day Pueblo Native Americans. Several of the cliff dwellings were explored in 1874; the major ruins were discovered in 1888.

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Another Cliff Palace Stamp Released

Cliff Palace, long a source of wonder and amazement, was honored this year with its image included in a United States Postal Service’s commemorative stamp collection. The “Wonders of America: Land of Superlatives” stamp sheet was released on May 27, 2006 and features forty natural and cultural treasures in the United States.

Mesa Verde National Park is proud to have the largest cliff dwelling in North America included among these remarkable wonders. Cliff Palace served as a community center for the Ancestral Puebloan people who lived in the Four Corners for more than 1000 years. In that time the Pueblo people created structures of unparalleled beauty and strength; stone masonry which has stood the test of time and served to educate countless people about southwestern prehistory.

The forty places, structures, plants, and animals being highlighted in this special collection span every region of the country. Text located on the back of these stamps will provide pertinent information about these exceptional features of our country. Artwork for the stamp has been created by Lonnie Busch.

On June 29, 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt and the 59th Congress designated Mesa Verde a national park, the first cultural national park in the history of the world. On the park’s 100th birthday, the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Mesa Verde National Park will host a special cancellation and cache event. The special cancellation will feature the park’s Centennial logo and will be available at the Mesa Verde Post Office in the park’s Headquarters area, 20 miles from the entrance gate. Limited-edition caches featuring images of Cliff Palace and Balcony House will also be sold by the USPS. At 1:30 p.m., the USPS will present Mesa Verde with a special enlargement of the Cliff Palace stamp for public display.

Source

Mesa Verde celebrates 100 years
Some tourists surprised by birthday festivities

June 30, 2006
By Chuck Slothower and Ann Butler | Herald Staff Writers

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK - Mesa Verde celebrated its centennial Thursday with countless tourists from across the nation who came to see its natural beauty and ancient relics.

The national park was established by Congress on June 29, 1906, as part of President Theodore Roosevelt's push to set aside public lands for future generations.

The action preserved cliff dwellings created by ancestral Puebloans who lived from approximately A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300 in what is now the national park, when a severe drought apparently forced them to move. Twenty-four tribes now claim descent from those early Mesa Verde residents.

Source: read more here