HERITAGE TOURISM CLASSIFICATION STUDY
(Fully Developed Heritage Tourism Destination Site)
Description
If you're looking for an adventure in southwestern archaeology, and exploration of Native American cultures, or a great way to experience extraordinary landscape of the four corners region, Crow Canyon is the place for you! Put simply, their mission is to involve you in the study of archaeology and ancient and contemporary cultures. You'll learn by doing as you dig in the dirt for artifacts, scramble up slopes to view rock art, raft down a river to explore a remote site, or grind corn as Native Americans have done for centuries and you'll have fun in the process!
Heritage Resources
Crow Archaeological Center is located near the site of ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) sites and not far from Mesa Verde National Park. Crow Canyon provides shared accommodations in comfortable log cabins called hogans located on pinion and juniper covered hillside or in dormatory-style rooms in the Crow Canyon lodge. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is a not-for-profit foundation formed in 1983.
How Visitors Interact with Resources
The opportunities and experiences at Crow Canyon vary from half-day trips in June, July and August to full week activities. Prices can range from $50 for day activities to nearly a month activities which cost over $1,500. The experiences range from visiting excavation sites and laboratories and learning about hands-on activities to intensive hands-on courses in archaeology involving excavation, field work, lab, exploring the landscape, camping, hiking, rafting and learning from Native American scholars.
The campus of Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is located very near to the archaeological resources from which you will become trained in while you visit the site.
Visitor Experiences
Visitor experiences are rich and varied covering a full range of archaeological science. A gift shop is available at the site.
Benefits
A major benefit of the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is that it is a heritage tourism destination and also an educational experience for the visitor. This is an interactive vacation that no one will forget.
Lessons to be Learned
The value of our archaeological past is probably the most important lesson but also the economics that can be derived from its preservation, exploration and scientific investigation. Crow Canyon developed as a heritage tourism destination coupled with many other archaeological visitation and hands-on experiences in the four corners region has formed an important archaeological heritage tourism industry which adds millions of dollars to the economy of the southwest.
Another key lesson is the number of visitor-interactive mechanisms (VIMS). These include hands-on excavations, work in the lab, actual trips to sites, river rafting to sites and talking among knowledgeable scholars and sharing ideas with friends that you meet. The VIMS are varied and come frequently at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.
Other Information
Crow Canyon also offers back country archaeology, classes on shaping Puebloan pottery, solstic markers and Anasazi skies and also involves other cultural explorations involving Mysteries of Egypt, the Mayan Experience, and many other interactive heritage tourism experiences both in the United States and throughout the world.
Contacts
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
23390 Road K
Cortez, CO 81321
Phone (800) 422-8975
Fax: (970) 565-4859
Website: www.crowcanyon.org
Top of Page
