George L. Beam's Scenic Rails of the West

Native Culture

Northern New Mexico's Bandelier National Monument contains several thousand ancestral Puebloan dwellings of a culture that thrived from the 1100s to 1500s. Situated in the caldera of the pre-historic Jemez Volcano, living quarters were carved from the soft volcanic tuff. Monument status was bestowed on the area in 1916.

Mesa Verde National Park is home to many of the most dramatic Anasazi archaeological remnants in the West. George Beam's photos were taken before modern development, and document some ruins that are no longer open to the public. Mesa Verde Point and thunderheads in the distant north are a familiar view to Mesa Verde visitors.

Walpi Pueblo, northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, has been inhabited by the Hopi Pueblo since 1200. Its dramatic cliff top location has been compared to Israel's Masada, or Greece's Meteora.

Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark. The multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years, and Taos is shown on the earliest maps of the area.