Within the town limits of Springerville, Arizona, roughly 2 miles north of downtown, lies the Casa Malpais National Historic Landmark Site. Situated within a series of basalt terraces at an elevation of 7,000 feet, this 16-acre pueblo complex has caught the attention of archaeologists worldwide for prehistoric qualities never before seen in this part of the world. It was abandoned roughly 600 years ago. There are many unanswered questions.
Casa Malpais was built about 1250 A.D. and was inhabited for perhaps the next 120 years. The building materials were local eroding basalt cobbles, larger blocks found at the site, as well as imported timbers from the forest some 3 to 4 miles to the south. The Mogollon (Western Pueblo) situated the site on the northeast side of the White Mountain Volcanic Field, near the headwaters of the Little Colorado River. This area is characterized by lava-capped mesas, over 400 cinder cones, and deeply entranced canyons.
Casa
Malpais represents one of the largest and most complex ancient
Mogollon (Western Pueblo) communities in the United States. It
consists of a large masonry pueblo, a Great Kiva, an enclosing wall,
three masonry stairways, a prehistoric trail, numerous isolated
rooms, sacred chambers, grinding areas, rock art panels and formal
trash middens. The pueblo contains perhaps 100+ rooms, some built to
2 stories.
Casa
Malpais was inhabited by the Mogollon (Western Pueblo); mountain
people who occupied the central regions of what is today the Arizona
and New Mexico border. They were gifted craftsmen whose culture
flourished for over 1100 years, and which is marked by their unique
ability to adapt to the often harsh and barren central mountain
environments.
This unique archeological site can be toured by joining a guide let tour which starts at the downtown Springerville Casa Malpais Museum.
Eagle Rock at Casa Malpais