National Park Service LogoU.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park ServiceNational Park Service
National Park Service:  U.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park Service Arrowhead
Aztec Ruins National MonumentTrees near West Ruin
view map
text size:largestlargernormal
printer friendly
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Weather
Summer high temperatures range between 80° and 90° degrees with a few days over 100°. Afternoon thunderstorms usually cool things down in late July and August. The fall is usually pleasant, with mild days and crisp nights. Snow usually hits by Thanksgiving and falls periodically throughout the winter, but accumulations over 6”are rare. Winter daytime temperatures range between the 20° and 50° with cold nights that can reach 0°. Spring weather is especially unpredictable: it can be windy, cold, and wet, or still, warm, and dry. Annually Aztec Ruins receives about 10.5”of precipitation.
Sunrise through the Great Kiva's windows  

Did You Know?
Ancestral Pueblo peoples at Chaco Canyon and Chimney Rock used sun and shadows to track the changing of the seasons. Recent studies indicate the Great Kiva windows at Aztec were purposely aligned to solar and lunar events as well. Was this an astronomical observatory?

Last Updated: October 02, 2006 at 17:51 EST