Protecting six prehistoric pueblo villages in a twenty-mile expanse of mesa tops along the Colorado-Utah border,
Hovenweep National Monument is noted for its solitude and undeveloped, natural character. The name Hovenweep was bestowed on the region by explorer and photographer William Jackson in 1874. It is a Ute word meaning "deserted valley," referring numerous small river valleys that feed into lower McElmo Creek and the San Juan River.
