Tonto National Monument consists of the ruins of two cliff dwellings established by the Salado Indians in about 1300 AD. The southeast-facing settlements were built quite high up a steep hillside within well-protected natural caves overlooking the Tonto Basin, which is now flooded forming Theodore Roosevelt Lake, though originally the Salt River flowed through the Basin which was therefore well irrigated and fertile. As with many other ancient peoples of the Southwest, the Salado appear to have abandoned their villages suddenly, early in the fifteenth century, for reasons which are not known. The national monument, which was established by President Roosevelt in December 1907, is located a few miles from state route 88 (The Apache Trail) and the shore of Theodore Roosevelt Lake, in a generally rocky and quite empty area that has extensive and varied cacti. There will be special activities and events throughout 2007 to celebrate the monument's centennial.
Cacti: One of the two dwellings (The Lower Ruin) is reached by a paved, half mile self-guided trail which leads from the visitor center/museum quite steeply up the side of a hill; to the side of the path there are notices about the native animals and plants - the area is especially abundant in sagauro and cholla cacti. This latter species is also known as the 'teddy bear cactus' due to the pleasing yellow-brown appearance of its dense covering of spines; however it definitely must not be touched as the spines have the peculiar quality of seeming to jump into ones skin at the slightest contact, and they are very painful to remove.
The Ruins: The two-storey ruin originally had 19 rooms; these are quite well-preserved and it is permitted to walk around the inside. Originally, the only access was by ladder leading to an entrance at the far left of the structure, which made the settlement easy to defend. The second (Upper) ruin is larger, with 40 rooms, but further away and visitors must be accompanied by a ranger - conducted tours need to be booked in advance.
Hotels: The nearest town with hotels close to Tonto National Monument is Payson.
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