Archaeological area, north-central New Mexico, U.S. Lying along the Rio Grande 20 mi (32 km) northwest of Santa Fe , it was established in 1916.
It occupies an area of 51 sq mi (132 sq km) and was named for Adolph Bandelier, a Swiss-American archaeologist. The monument contains many cliff and open-pueblo ruins of pre-Columbian Indians (mostly 13th-century) in Frijoles Canyon. Stone sculptures and man-made caves have also been unearthed.