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Free Traveling Guides » States » New Mexico » Greater New Mexico Casa Riconada
Casa Rinconada, situated in the Chaco Culture National Historical Park near Nageezi, New Mexico, is the largest Great Kiva found till date. Kivas are ceremonial structures which were apparently used as sites of public ceremony by the Ancestral Puebloans. The most impressive feature of these Kivas is that they are always aligned to the cardinal directions. Casa Rinconada is one of the 5 such Great Kivas that were constructed in 1050 AD. This great subterranean Kiva stands to the south of Chaco Wash, directly across the Great House, Pueblo Bonito. It is a circular structure, which is almost half sunk into the earth on a hill. The diameter of this magnificent Kiva is nearly 80 feet (24 m) while its depth is over 13 feet (4 m).
Great geometrical care has been taken to design and build this spectacular Kiva. Like all other Kivas in the Park, Casa Rinconada is also aligned to authentic cardinality that makes it a symbol of the cosmos. The most impressive feature is the symmetry axis, which is aligned with the north-south line by 20 feet (6 m) and is defined by the two T-shaped doors. Besides, it has as many as 28 niches, out of which 6 niches are large and irregularly spaced wall crypts. The smaller niches, on the other hand, are equally spaced.
Casa Rinconada also has a window towards the northeast that captures a beam of light during the summer solstice sunrise and illuminates one of the many irregular niches in the circular masonry wall of the Kiva. The four roof posts on the Kiva floor has circular masonry foundation sockets that form a square centered on the Kiva center within 4 inches (10 cm). This Solstitial alignment of Casa Rinconada has always attracted people from across the world. It is one of the major attractions in the Chaco Canyon National Historical Park and is worth watching.
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