Letter I

is for Irrigation.
The Ancestral Pueblo people who built the Aztec West and East great houses took advantage of the year-round water from the Animas River by constructing irrigation ditches to bring water to their cultivated gardens of corn, beans, squash and other domesticated crops.

According to early settlers, irrigation canals were present near the ruins prior to being destroyed by modern farming and development. The late Sherman Howe, who moved to Aztec in 1880, reported that a canal could be traced easily in the 1880's for nearly 2 miles. The intake of this canal was on the Animas River some 3 miles above Aztec. Earl H. Morris, who excavated the site between 1916-1922, also implied that the Animas was used for prehistoric irrigation.

Where does your water come from?

  • Source: www.facebook.com/AztecRuinsNM
    • Irrigation
    Animas River, source for irrigation


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