A multi-room stone building perched on a high ridge. Unlike typical residential structures, its strategic location suggests it was used for ceremonial purposes and celestial observation .
Designated a national monument on September 21, 2012, by President Barack Obama , Chimney Rock is a site where natural geology and human architecture merge. The monument is defined by two soaring rock pinnacles—Chimney Rock and Companion Rock—which stand nearly 1,000 feet above the valley floor at an elevation of 7,600 feet . Managed by the U.S. Forest Service , it protects hundreds of ruins dating primarily to the Pueblo II period (900–1150 AD). chimney rock national monument
Managed for archaeological protection and public education, the monument's management plan focuses on: A multi-room stone building perched on a high ridge
Protecting ancient masonry from erosion and freeze-thaw cycles. The monument is defined by two soaring rock
Every 18.6 years, the moon reaches its northernmost rising point on the horizon. From the vantage point of the Great House, the moon appears to rise directly between Chimney Rock and Companion Rock .
Chimney Rock is considered a "Chacoan outlier," a satellite community of the vast Chaco Canyon civilization centered in New Mexico, roughly 100 miles to the south. It represents the highest elevation of any known Chacoan site.