Chaco Canyon, located in northwestern New Mexico, is thought to have been the hub of an extensive trading network.  Turquoise was processed into beads, ornaments and jewelry at Chaco, and traded throughout the Southwest and northern Mexico for parrots, macaws, copper bells and other precious commodities.  Chaco may have been a distribution center for food and resources to the region's highly variable climate and growing populations.  Ceremonies may have brought "pilgrims" to Chaco along a ritually used road system that connected Chaco to distant communities and to the sacred landscape.  We may never fully understand the Chaco story.      Detailed histories (most with original pictures) about the following specific ruins can now be found at SouthwestArchaeology.com. Chaco Canyon Sites: Chetro Ketl, Hungo Pavi, Kin Kletso, Pueblo Alto, Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo del Arroyo Chaco Canyon Outlier Index Pages: Aztec, Casamero, Chimney Rock, Dominguez & Escalante, Kin Bineola, Kin Ya'a, Lowry Pueblo, Pueblo Pintado, Salmon To visit Chaco Canyon, turn off New Mexico 44 at County Road 7900, 3 miles east of Nageezi and approximately 50 miles west of Cuba. From the turnoff it is 21 miles to the park boundary, which includes 5 miles of paved road (CR 7900) and 16 miles of dirt road (CR 7950). Click here to see other Chaco Canyon Maps or choose "Detailed Maps" in the title bar above. Text from Southwest Parks & Monuments Association Chaco Canyon Monument Guide - SPMA/100M/10th printing/9/99