Taos Pueblo Historical Facts and Pictures

The ancient settlement of Taos Pueblo is located in the valley of Rio Grande, near the town of Taos in New Mexico. The site is inhabited by the Native American Pueblo tribe, which the archaeologists believe had migrated from the Four Corners region. This settlement is lot similar to the Four Corners area, which was occupied by the Anasazi or the ancient Pueblo people. The ceremonial buildings and adobe dwellings within the area exemplifies the traditional architectural style of the Pre-Hispanic period.

Taos Pueblo Map

Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo Images

Taos Pueblo Pictures

Architecture and Structure of Taos Pueblo

The multi-storied, reddish-brown adobe complex is the most prominent feature of Tao Pablo’s architecture. Mostly, five or six stories high, the houses are closely built, featuring very few windows and no standard doorways. The square holes on the narrow roofs functioned as access points to the room, which were climbed through long, wooden ladders. The thick walls of the houses were refurbished every year with new coats of adobe plasters as part of a ceremony. This unique system of construction suited well to the rigors of the environment. The interior walls of the buildings are clean and bright with coatings of thin white earth.

Church of Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo Church

Taos Pueblo Inside

Taos Pueblo Photos

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, Taos Pablo was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.  Ansel Adams’ 1930 pictorial book with the same name features a great collection of black and white photographs of landscapes of the American West.

Ansel Adams Church Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo Ansel Adams Church