Treasure Hunting Arizona Fort Verde De Chelly Casa Grande Monument Coronado National Memorial Hubbel

Arizona - Fort Verde is an almost forgotten military fortification east of the town of Cape Verde in Yavapai County. Fort Verde’s heyday was in the 1870s, when it was used as a primary base for cavalry units under General George Cook. Despite its age, many of its stone structures still stand today. Montezuma’s Castle can also be found in Yavapai County, near the town of Rimrock just off I-17. Montezuma’s Castle is one of the most intact relics of the past from Native American civilization in the Southwest USA. Its defining features are the prominent houses carved into the sheer cliff during the 13th century. This site is also surrounded by a number of other places of archeological interest. Canyon de Chelly, near Chinle, Apache County, comprises hundreds of dwellings similar to those that could be found at Montezuma’s Castle. These dwellings were carved at the base of steep red sandstone cliffs, and are said to have been built by the Pueblo Indians between the 8th and 14th centuries AD. In the 1700s, a community of Navajos conquered and settled the dwellings. These Navajos would harass colonizers for much of the next few centuries. A particularly bloody example occurred in 1805, when a troop of Spanish soldiers engaged a band of Navajos who ambushed them at a place called Massacre Cave. Another engagement was recorded in 1864, when a man named Kit Carson routed a large force of Navajos in the Canyon. Other ruins built by the Pueblo Indians lie nearby, at places named Canyon del Muerte, Monument Canyon, and Black Rock. Casa Grande Monument is located around two miles to the north of the town of Coolidge in Pinal County, near State Route 87. The Casa Grande is a spectacular tower made up of packed walls stacked four stories high. It is believed to have been constructed by the Hohokam people for ceremonial purposes. The Hohokam first arrived in the area around 400 BC and would leave in the middle of the 15th century. The monument stands in the middle of nearly 90 mud buildings. Tonto National Monument can be found approximately 28 miles off SR 88, due northwest of the town of Globe in Gila County. This landmark is also dominated by cliff dwellings. Over 100 of these homes were carved out of the cliff by the Salado Indians during the 14th century, and would be abandoned roughly a century later. The Salados were proficient at mining gold and silver in the area, and thus many artifacts made from these precious metals have been found here. The Mission of San Xavier del Bac stands about 9 miles south of Tucson, just by Mission Road. First built by Jesuit missionaries in 1692 amidst a village of Pima natives, it would fall under siege when the natives revolted in 1751. It was said to house a considerable collection of treasure, which the missionaries were said to have successfully hidden before they were all massacred. San Xavier del Bac was burnt to the ground, but was rebuilt in 1767 by a group of Franciscan missionaries, and still stands. The Tubac Presidio Ruins lie 45 miles to the south of Tucson in Santa Cruz County. Tubac Presidio was a military outpost made up of over 50 brick fortifications, built by the Spanish in the 1750s, and abandoned in 1776. Some time after this, Mexican forces would occupy and rebuild the post in order to protect their miners, who had found plentiful deposits of silver in the area. In the early 1850s, Mormons who were traveling to California used the outpost as a stopover shelter. In 1856, a group of Texan miners used it as a base of operations.. The Fort Yuma Ruins are the remains of an old fortified town built on the banks of the Colorado River, near the modern town of Yuma in Yuma County. Fort Yuma began as a Spanish mission in 1700, until its destruction at the hands of belligerent natives. The catalyst for what would ultimately become Fort Yuma was the beginning of the Gold Rush in California. In 1850, the fortified town was built and became a crucial focal point, and later it became a