In 1982, NASA researcher Tom Sever used thermal-infrared imagery to identify anomalies that helped trace Chaco Canyon's Great North Road. The Ancestral Puebloan route begins just east of Pueblo Alto and runs north to Kutz Canyon; published estimates put it at roughly 31–35 miles, and one groomed section is about 30 feet wide. Ann Sofaer studied the route alongside Pueblo accounts concerning north, emergence and the dead. The video interprets its alignment, smashed pottery and horseshoe-shaped features as a "spirit road"; that interpretation is not established archaeological fact.
NASA thermal imagery traces Chaco Canyon's ancient Great North Road
Site mentioned
📍 Chaco Canyon
Key facts
- Published descriptions place the Great North Road just east of Pueblo Alto in Chaco Canyon, ending at Kutz Canyon; reported lengths vary from about 31 to 35 miles depending on the endpoints used.
- In 1982, Tom (Thomas) Sever used thermal-infrared technology at NASA's National Space Technology Laboratories in Mississippi. The imagery revealed anomalies that helped researchers trace the road rather than a road literally surfacing from the sand.
- A groomed section of the Great North Road is described as approximately 30 feet wide.
- The researcher was Ann Sofaer, not Anna Sofaer.
- Chaco Canyon was a major Ancestral Puebloan ceremonial and administrative center, but calling it a capital is not established.
- The video argues that the alignment, smashed pottery and horseshoe-shaped features formed a spirit route. That proposed spiritual meaning is an interpretation, not an established archaeological consensus.
Sources
Looking for Chaco's Great North Road - Photo Toursactivelightphotography.com
The ruin commands panoramic views of the San Juan Mountains and Huerfano Mesa (north), the volcanic cone of Mount Taylor (south), the eroded ...
Great North Road (Ancestral Puebloans)en.wikipedia.org
The Great North Road is an Ancestral Puebloan road that stretches from Pueblo Alto, in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, to Kutz Canyon in the northern portion of the ...
The Great North Road: a Cosmographic Exparchaeologysouthwest.org
by A Sofaer · 1986 · Cited by 71 — Great North Road to connect Chaco Canyon with other major population centers.
An American Pilgrimageelpalacio.org
30-foot-wide, groomed pilgrimage trail called the Great North Road spanned 33 miles north from Chaco Canyon to Kutz Canyon in northwestern New Mexico.
Chacoan Roads - Chaco Culture National Historical ...nps.gov
The best documented examples of long roads are the Great North Road, which starts just east of Pueblo Alto and runs north to Kutz Canyon ...
Ancient Observatories: Chaco Canyonannex.exploratorium.edu
A prominent example is the Great North Road, an ancient Chacoan road extending thirty-five miles north of Chaco Canyon. Described as "overbuilt and underused,"
Was this story useful?
Keep exploring
Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.
3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search
AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.