Not far from Albuquerque in the Rio Puerco mustard colored valley lies the easternmost Chacoan outlier Great House. The isolated site sits 200 feet above the valley floor with sheer cliffs on all sides and it commands an impressive view of the surrounding area. Cabezon Peak and Cerro Salado are quite prominent on the horizon. The Site consists of 39 rooms and 7 kivas with two of them having modern roofs to protect them. The site is connected to Chaco Canyon via one of the many Chacoan Great Roads. Click here to listen to my series over the Chacoan Anasazi.

It is quite the compelling site since most Chacoan Outliers were North and West, although Chimney Rock and sites on the Chaco Meridian complicate that. I wonder if the Gallina Culture were in any way related to these Rio Puerco people’s culture.

Although the site was a Chacoan outlier at first, after the Anasazi Civil war it was abandoned around AD 1150 and the Mesa Verdean/Ancestral Puebloans occupied and remodeled it on their migration eastward. Click here to listen to my episode over the Anasazi Civil War.

The approach is rugged and depending on recent weather or the time of year, it can be done in a 2 wheel high clearance vehicle but a 4WD vehicle is recommended just in case. The parking area certainly requires 4WD to access but there’s a more accessible parking area a little further down the road.