Monument Valley Meander - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 447

The awe-inspiring multi-storied towers perched on canyon rims and balanced on boulders at Hovenweep National Monu-
ment were clearly the work of the Anasazis, but their purpose remains a mystery.
9. Hovenweep National Monument
To the Ute Indians, the mesas and canyonlands along the Utah-Colorado border territory
north of the San Juan River were hovenweep , a word meaning “deserted valley.” The Utes
must surely have wondered who had populated and abandoned this desolate land, where
strange stone towers (oval, square, D-shaped, and round) stand in ruined splendor along
the canyon rims. We now know that these sturdy structures—clearly the work of master
builders—were created by the Anasazis. But their purpose remains a mystery. Some be-
lieve they were used for defense; others think they might have been granaries or platforms
for observing the heavens.
To reach Hovenweep, among the most remote of the great western monuments, take
Rte.191northoutofBluff,thenswingeastonRte.262towardtheColoradoborder.Anoth-
er turnoff continues seven miles to the Hatch Trading Post, the last outpost before the