This 700-Year-Old Cliff Dwelling in Arizona Requires a 17-Mile Hike Thru Navajo Territory

Keet Seel Cliff Dwellings

The Ancestral Puebloans built Keet Seel around 1250 AD, then walked away forever just decades later. Today, this massive cliff dwelling holds 140+ rooms tucked under a natural stone overhang.

Here’s the story behind Arizona’s best preserved pueblo and how to earn your visit.

Keet Seel

Tucked within the sandstone canyons of northeastern Arizona, this remarkable site contains precisely 160 rooms built into a massive alcove.

The name “Keet Seel” comes from the Navajo language, meaning “broken pottery scattered around,” a fitting description for a place where ancient ceramic fragments still litter the ground.

People Who Built Homes in Sandstone Alcoves

The builders of Keet Seel were Ancestral Puebloan people, earlier called Anasazi by archaeologists. Modern Hopi tribes trace their direct ancestry to these builders, calling the site “Kawestima” in their language.

These master builders first occupied the main settlement around 1250 CE during a time when communities throughout the Southwest gathered into larger, defensible locations.

Archaeological digs uncovered evidence of Basketmaker III style pithouses dating to approximately 900 CE in the same cliff area.

The Construction Boom Between 1272-1275

Between 1272 and 1275 CE, Keet Seel experienced an extraordinary building boom. Dozens of rooms appeared in just those three years as the population rapidly grew.

The builders used sandstone blocks secured with mud mortar and wooden beams to create their multi-story dwellings.

They strategically oriented the settlement toward the southeast, providing cooling shade during hot summer months while capturing warming sunlight during winter.

A massive 180-foot retaining wall stabilized the front of the settlement.

Room Clusters

Digs revealed 25 distinct room clusters beneath the protective cliff overhang. Each cluster functioned as a family unit with one common living room surrounded by one to four storage rooms all sharing a small courtyard.

This pattern closely resembled the Pueblo III structures at Mesa Verde in Colorado, suggesting cultural connections between communities across the Southwest.

Six Ceremonial Kivas

Unlike the nearby Betatakin cliff dwelling with its single kiva, Keet Seel contained six kivas, which are circular ceremonial chambers essential to Puebloan religious and social life.

Kivas featured specialized architecture including fire pits, benches, ventilators, and sipapus, small floor holes symbolizing the passage through which people emerged from the underworld in Puebloan creation stories.

How 150 People Thrived in Desert Canyon

During its peak, Keet Seel supported between 125-150 people according to population studies by archaeologist Jeffrey Dean during digs in the 1950s-1960s.

Natural springs fed water systems, providing reliable water for farming in this otherwise dry region.

The people grew maize (corn) as their main crop, along with beans and squash.

Researchers have found tiny corncobs alongside manos and metates (grinding stones used to process corn into meal), offering solid evidence of their farming practices and diet.

Pottery Artisans

The people of Keet Seel created exceptionally fine pottery. Some vessels found at the site measured exactly two feet across with perfectly balanced shapes and detailed designs.

Their distinctive pottery styles included Kayenta black-on-white, Tusayan black-on-red, and Kayenta polychrome, names based on colors, patterns, and making techniques.

Why The Community Abandoned Their Home

By the early 1300s CE, Keet Seel stood empty.

Scientists have found a marked decrease in yearly rainfall between 1276 and 1299 CE, creating a long drought that would have ruined crop production.

As conditions worsened, inhabitants moved south into central Arizona and the Rio Grande Valley where water remained more reliable.

Richard Wetherill’s 1895 Discovery of the Ruins

Although local Navajo people had known about Keet Seel for centuries, Richard Wetherill became the first Euro-American to document the ruins in 1895.

With his brother Al and Charlie Mason, Wetherill explored the remote canyon system during long trips through the Four Corners region.

Wetherill’s formal excavation began after his team left Mancos, Colorado in October 1896, eventually reaching Keet Seel in March 1897.

Upon seeing the remarkably preserved site and artifacts, he described his findings as “the finest collection of pottery I have seen.”

Why the Ruins Remain So Well Preserved

Keet Seel’s extraordinary state of preservation stems from several lucky circumstances. The extremely dry climate kept organic materials from rotting, while the natural overhanging cliff protected the structures from rain and snow damage.

Access to the alcove requires climbing a 70-foot ladder, a factor that historically limited visits and potential vandalism.

Today, the dwelling contains original wooden beams, roof structures, and wall materials that have remained intact for over 700 years.

Visiting Keet Seel

Keet Seel lies within Navajo National Monument, accessed via Highway 564 near Shonto, Arizona (86054). Visitors must complete a strenuous 17-mile round-trip hike including a 1,000-foot descent into the canyon, crossing several muddy stream beds along the way.

The National Park Service strictly limits access to protect the fragile site, allowing only 20 hikers daily during the summer season between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Reservations are required.

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