Taos Pueblo

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Taos Pueblo
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Taos Pueblo today
Nearest city:	Taos, New Mexico
Added to NRHP:	October 15, 1966
Reference #:	66000496 ^[1]
Governing body:	Private

**Pueblo de Taos**^a
**UNESCO World Heritage Site**

State Party	United States of America
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv
Identification	#492
Region^b	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	1992 16th Session
a Name as officially inscribed on the WH List b As classified officially by UNESCO

Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos), continuously inhabited for more than 1000 years, is the ancient pueblo of a Northern Tiwa speaking Native American tribe of Pueblo people. It lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, USA, on Red Willow Creek or Rio Pueblo, a small stream which flows from the Sangre de Cristo Range. 95,000 acres (384 km²) are attached to the pueblo, and about 2000 people live there. In the Northern Tiwa language, the name of Taos is Tua-tah, which means "our village." Taos Pueblo is a member of the Eight Northern Pueblos.

Taos Pueblo's most prominent architectural feature is a multi-storied residential complex of reddish-brown adobe divided into two parts by the Rio Pueblo. According to the Pueblo's Web site, it was probably built between 1000 and 1450 A.D. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 9, 1960, and later became a World Heritage Site. As of 2006 about 150 people live in it full-time.

The history of Taos Pueblo include the plotting of the Pueblo Revolt in 1680, a siege by U.S. forces in 1847, and the return by President Nixon in 1970 of the Pueblo's 48,000 acres (194 km²) of mountain land taken by President Theodore Roosevelt and designated as the Carson National Forest early in the Twentieth Century. Blue Lake, which the people of the Pueblo traditionally consider sacred, was included in this return of Taos land. The Pueblo's web site names the acquisition of the sacred Blue Lake as the most important event in its history due to the spiritual belief that the Taos natives originated from the lake itself.

Additional Images

Taos Pueblo, 1893 illustration	Taos Pueblo, circa 1920	Detail of Taos Pueblo	Taos Pueblo with Rio Pueblo in foreground
The remains of the original San Geronimo church amid sacred gravesites.	The entrance to a kiva, or room for religious rituals, at Taos.	Ancient apartment-style dwellings at the Taos Pueblo.	The Taos Pueblo dwellings have changed little in 1,000 years.