More from our trip to Cottonwood, AZ Montezuma's Well

On the same day we went to the castle, we also visited the well.  I got sick from the heat so we had to go back another day to see all of it.  It was amazing to think of this water being in the middle of the desert.

From about AD 900 to AD 1400, a group of southern Sinagua (which means "without water") built a thriving agricultural community here by channeling the well water to irrigate their food and cotton crops.

A funnel-shaped, limestone sink containing a pool of water 55 feet deep and 368 feet across, Montezuma Well is all that remains of an ancient cavern.

Subterranean springs of warm water replenish the well with over a million and a half gallons of water a day; an amount unvarying, apparently, since prehistoric times.  The water maintains an even temperature of 76 degrees year around.

Water from the well flows out through a side cave in the limestone cliffs.



Notice the caves near the rim








This is below the well, so much cooler down here and so beautiful! 





About a thousand years ago, prehistoric Indians dug a canal here, diverting water from Montezuma Well, to irrigate their corn, beans, squash and cotton crops.

The cement-like lining is caused by naturally occurring carbonate in the water, which forms a deposit on the canal walls.