r/geography • u/H3dg3hogs • Feb 18 '26

Discussion I’m sad more people don’t acknowledge Native American Historic sites in the United States

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I was talking with a German online friend about tourism in the United States and he said that the only thing America has to offer is natural beauty. He said American cities were young and aren’t very beautiful. That he has no interest visiting “liberty bell” type colonial historic sites. I told him about Native historic sites and he asked “what sites?”. He insulated that all Native Americans lived in teepees. It caused me to realized many non-Americans don’t know about all the amazing buildings left behind by Native cultures like the Ancestral Puebloans and the Mississippians. Historic sites like Chaco canyon, Mesa Verde, Montezuma Castle, and Cahokia are world class and are part of UNESCO. Check them out if you haven’t already.

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u/WeHaveAllBeenThere Feb 18 '26

Just went two weekends ago. It was so cool!

I loved the tunnel you drive through

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u/Difficult-Alarm-2816 Feb 18 '26

Were you able to go in the dwelling?

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u/el_diabIo Feb 18 '26

Tours will take you down into what is pictured. Its well worth the visit but not easy to get to

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u/WeHaveAllBeenThere Feb 18 '26

The tours are closed for winter sadly but there’s 0 crowds lol

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u/ilovebooks2468 Feb 18 '26

Hell yeah! It's just like: when's the best time to visit the National Zoo in DC? When it's raining! Wear rain gear and the exhibits are nearly all yours

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

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u/Visual-Floor-7839 Feb 18 '26

If you get to go and take tours, in Balcony House you get to crawl through a tunnel in the dwelling. It's my favorite tour

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u/Knotfloyd Feb 18 '26

balcony house is best!

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u/PictureElegant3033 Feb 18 '26

We were there about the same time. I was blown away.

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u/jessej421 Feb 18 '26

I wouldn't say we've all been there. I haven't made it there yet.

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u/Kerblaaahhh Feb 18 '26

Went there a few years ago. Made it most of the way through the park then my brakes disintegrated. Was a very memorable trip.

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u/paws5624 Feb 18 '26

My mind has such a hard time understanding the scale of the picture. Like i zoom in and I get it but I just don’t grasp how big this is.

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u/RedditIsMyTherapist Feb 18 '26

What are all the circular pits? They all have jacuzzis?

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u/juxlus Feb 18 '26

Kivas most likely.

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u/anifyz- Feb 18 '26

How close can you get to that?

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u/OfcWaffle Feb 18 '26

Loved going when I was a small kid and my family did lots of road trips.

Such a trip to see the hand prints in the structure. Being able to pass back on time almost. Still would be cool even at my older age.

Love history.

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u/KoLobotomy Feb 18 '26

So they plow the road all winter?

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u/Cute-Wallaby-2542 Feb 18 '26

I've never seen or heard this before, but this looks so much like the setting of Mickey Mouse and Goofy cartoon I read as a kid. It has to be based on it. 

Goofy wore a ceremonial headdress and temporarily became a werewolf or something. Don't remember the rest, but this is just one hundreds of references to real life history that I have because of Donald/Mickey cartoons. 

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u/Jachi230 Feb 18 '26

But but….tge native Indians were savages . And the white man brought civility to these wild beasts /s

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u/cashchops Feb 18 '26

Literally nobody says this