MONTEZUMA CASTLE NATIONAL MONUMENT

national monument in central Arizona, U.S. It lies in the Verde River Valley immediately northeast of Camp Verde. Established in 1906, its area is 842 ac (341 ha) and comprises one of the best preserved pre-Columbian Pueblo Indian cliff dwellings in the U.S. The castle is a 5-story, 20-room adobe brick structure, dating from c. AD 1100, built into a cavity in the limestone cliff face about 80 ft (24 m) above the valley floor. It is almost wholly intact and is reached by a series of ladders. It has no connection with the Aztec emperor whose name it bears but was named by early settlers who believed it was built by Aztec refugees from Mexico. To the northeast is Montezuma Well, a large sinkhole rimmed with communal dwellings.