Montezuma Castle National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

National Monument

Arizona

OFFICIAL

JUNIOR RANGER

ACTIVITY GUIDE

Ages 6+
Welcome, Ranger!

Junior Park Rangers explore, learn about, 

and help protect national parks. Follow these 

instructions to earn your official Junior Ranger 

badge and certificate. You can also purchase a 

Junior Ranger patch if you show your certificate 

at the store.

Special thanks to Mike Gooch, Rand Guthrie, and Kathleen Osterhaus for donating their artistic talents to this project.

How old are you?

If you are 6 or 7 years old, do the activities 

on each page with the Sonoran mud turtle.

If you are 8 or 9, do the activities that 

have the turtle and the activities with the 

Arizona sycamore leaf.

If you are 10 or older, do all the activities in 

the book, including those with the macaw.

To become a Junior Ranger at Montezuma Castle, do pages 3–7 and 12–14.

To be a Junior Ranger at Montezuma Well, do pages 7–14.

Once you finish, bring your book to the visitor center or ranger station to get your official 

Junior Ranger badge and certificate!

Grown-Ups

The Junior Ranger program should take 30 minutes to an hour for your child to 

complete, about as long as most people spend visiting the monument.

If your child does not finish before you leave, no problem! The monument’s address is 

on the back of this booklet. They can finish later and mail it to us, and we’ll send their 

official Junior Ranger badge and certificate to your address.

Remember:

Rangers Work Safely!

It can get really hot out there. 

Be sure you drink lots of water, 

and wear sunscreen. Rangers 

always wear their hats outside, 

so take yours if you have one!
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Visit the museum inside the Montezuma Castle visitor center. Read the exhibits, and see if 

you can find the cool facts that answer these questions!

Across

4. The _______ may have been the first 

farmers in the Verde Valley, arriving 

around 700 CE.

5. Dr. Harold chose the name 

“Sinagua” for the prehistoric culture of 

northern Arizona, but no one knows the 

name they called themselves.

6. People gathered bean pods and 

berries from Mesquite and Hackberry 

_____.

9. The Verde Valley forms the most easily 

traveled from the lowland deserts 

to the Colorado Plateau.

Explore the Museum

CE is an abbreviation archeologists 

use for “Common Era.” It means 

exactly the same thing as A.D.

For B.C., archeologists say BCE or 

Before Common Era! 

What’s CE?

Down

1. The Sinagua used many plant resources 

from the natural world around them. They 

used the plant to make rope, sandals, 

needles, and matting.

2. President Roosevelt set aside 

Montezuma Castle National Monument in 

1906 to be preserved for future generations.

3. In its south-facing cliff alcove, 

Montezuma Castle is shaded and in 

the summer, but sunny and warm in the 

winter.

5. Successful farmers, the Sinagua cultivated 

corn, beans, squash, and .

7. _____ was an important (and tasty) 

mineral the Sinagua found near Montezuma 

Castle and used for trade.

8. Many clans trace their ancestors 

to Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well, 

and Tuzigoot.
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Many visitors wonder why the people here built their village against the cliffs, instead of 

down on the flat ground. See if you can help figure it out! 

The people who lived here had to find someplace to build homes for shelter. They also 

needed a place to grow corn, beans, and squash for food, as well as cotton for clothing.

1. Flat Land

Spring snowmelt and 

late summer storms 

mean flat land gets 

flooded. But floods 

also leave behind new 

soil for farming!

2. Beaver Creek

Water attracts deer, 

elk, and other wildlife. 

Tall sycamore, ash, and 

walnut trees growing 

along the banks give 

lots of shade.

3. Limestone Cliffs

Cliff homes like Montezuma 

Castle have great views and 

don’t get flooded. Because 

they face south, these rooms 

are shady in summer and 

sunny in winter.

Where would you build?

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2

3
5

If you built your home on the flat ground along Beaver Creek, what do you think 

would happen to your house when it floods? 

Flooding is only one of many possible reasons people might have had for 

building Montezuma Castle and Castle A against the cliffs. What other reasons 

can you find along the trail that would make the cliffs good for building?

Besides places to farm and build, what other resources surrounding Montezuma 

Castle would help make this a good place to live?

Look at the different designs at the top of the pages in your Junior 

Ranger Activity Book. You might have seen them before on Native 

American pottery, jewelry, or baskets. All three represent water.

The stairstep design represents thunderclouds that bring life-giving 

storms, called monsoons, in July and August. You’ll see this design 

on all of the pages for Junior Rangers at Montezuma Castle.

The second design shows waves. You’ll see it on all of the pages for 

Junior Rangers at Montezuma Well.

The last design is a combination of both. It shows up on pages 

meant for all Junior Rangers at both the Castle and the Well. Can 

you imagine how important water was to people in the desert?

Did you notice?
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Getting Around

The people of the Verde Valley traded with cultures all over the Southwest, some of them 

from hundreds of miles away.

Paddle a

Canoe?

Fly in an 

airplane?

Ride in a 

vehicle?

Walk on 

your feet?

How long would it take you to 

walk to the desert near modern 

Phoenix, the ancient home of 

the Hohokam people, if you 

wanted to trade with them?

125 miles 

(200 km)

The people here had no boats, automobiles, or airplanes. They had to walk! 

And since the desert is so dry, they couldn’t go straight there—they had to 

stay close to rivers and creeks.

After you finish walking the trail at Montezuma Castle, write down how 

long it took you to go all the way around:

The trail here is 1/3 of a mile long. Multiply your time by three—that is how 

long it would take you to walk one mile. (If you multiply your time by two 

instead, that is how long it would take to walk a kilometer.)

Circle the ways you travel when you have to go long distances. Do you...
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Knowing your Neighbors

Can you think of a culture or 

person who has influenced you? 

What effect did they have?

Cultural

 Exchange?

A:

Culture is a word used to describe the behavior of a group of people. It includes the 

language they speak, their beliefs, the kinds of clothes they wear, the music they like, and 

lots of other things.

When people from different cultures meet, each group can learn a lot from the other.

Look at this map—the Sinagua were surrounded by other cultures! As they traveled and 

traded with each other, each group obtained 

items from far away and also learned new ideas.

Look in the museum or ask a ranger, and circle 

the items and ideas below that the Sinagua got 

from other cultures by trading.

Sinagua

Mogollon

Ancestral

Puebloan

(Anasazi)

Hohokam

Cohonina

Prescott

Salado
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How old is 

Montezuma Well’s 

oldest house?

This Year

Approximate year the Pit House 

was Built

Pit House’s Age!

Do you think your house will still be around after that many years?

Made to Last

What’s it called? The Back House

Where is it? Near the Picnic Area

When was it built? 1930

Living at the Well

People have lived at Montezuma Well for a long, long time. The earliest people moved 

into the Verde Valley over 10,000 years ago. By 700 CE, the first farmers were planting 

their crops here.

Today, you can see different kinds of homes from over 1,000 years of history at the Well. 

While you visit, see if you can find all four kinds of houses that are here.

What’s it called? 

Where is it? 

When was it built? 

What’s it called? 

Where is it? 

When was it built? 

What’s it called? 

Where is it? 

When was it built? 
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Montezuma Well

Mogollon Rim

Kaibab Limestone

Toroweap Formation

Coconino Sandstone

Schnebly Hill Sandstone

Hermit Shale

Supai Group

Redwall Limestone

Martin Dolomite Basalt Dike

Science is always learning 

more! Until 2011, the 

source of Montezuma Well’s 

water was a mystery. That 

April, geologists revealed 

that the water fell over 

10,000 years ago as rain and 

snow. After ten millennia, 

this water is finally seeing 

sunlight again.

Striving to

 Understand

That’s a lot of water!

Every day, about 1.5 million gallons of water flow into Montezuma Well from two springs 

at the bottom. But where does this water come from?

All this water started as rain and snow on top of the Mogollon Rim, which you can see 

to the north and east from the rim of Montezuma Well. Over thousands of years, it slowly 

trickled through layers of rock until it reached the 

Redwall Limestone.

Redwall Limestone has lots of cracks and holes in it, 

so the water was able to seep very slowly toward 

Montezuma Well. But when it gets here, it runs into 

a solid wall of rock called a Basalt Dike. This dike acts 

like a dam and forces the water up to the surface.

Draw the path of the water on the diagram below. 

Why do you think all this water is so important here in 

the desert?

Volcanic Basalt
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Nowhere Else on Earth

Plants and animals—and people—live in places where they can find the things they need 

to survive. These places are called habitats or ecosystems.

Plants grow where they can find water, sunlight, and the right kind of soil. Bees live where 

they can find flowers with pollen. Lizards come out when it’s warm and they can find 

insects to eat.

What kind of animal does not live in Montezuma Well?

Montezuma Well has a very special ecosystem. The water may look calm, but 

there’s a lot of action happening beneath the surface, with five kinds of plants 

and animals that live nowhere else on earth! Find out what they are and write 

their names with the drawings below. (We’ve put their scientific names in 

parentheses beneath each one, just for fun! What do you notice about them?)

D T

E H

A C R

N

A D

(Ranatra montezuma)

(Gomphonema

montezumense)

(Hyalella montezuma)

(Erpobdella 

montezuma)

(Pyrgulopsis 

montezumensis)
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Surface Water: Swallet, Outlet, Ditch

Almost all life on earth needs water to survive. At Montezuma Well, there is a lot of it—

over 15,000,000 gallons (57,000,000 liters) just inside the Well. That’s enough to fill over 

20 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

But the Well’s water doesn’t stay there! Follow the Outlet Trail to find where the water 

comes out. What did the Sinagua people channel the water into? What other body of 

water flows nearby? Write what you think each one was used for.

1. 2.
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Sit, Look & Listen

Find a quiet place where you can sit awhile at Montezuma Castle or Montezuma Well.

Use your senses. What do you see? Do you hear or smell anything you’ve never noticed 

before? Write about it or draw it in the space below.

The people of the Verde 

Valley had to be closely 

acquainted with the natural 

world. The movement of 

the stars, sun, and moon 

told them when to plant 

and harvest their crops. The 

arrival of summer storms, 

called monsoons, meant the 

survival of corn and other 

important foods.

Knowing

 Nature
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Poetry Corner

A cinquain is a short poem that always has five lines. Follow the example and rules below 

to write your own cinquain about your visit to Montezuma Castle or Montezuma Well.

Line 1: A person, place, or subject the poem is about.

Line 2: Two words that describe it.

Line 3: Three actions that it does.

Line 4: A four-word phrase about it.

Line 5: One new word that renames the subject.

Sycamore

Massive, Strong

Growing, Changing, Reaching

Making me feel small

Guardian.

Notice that it doesn’t have to rhyme. Now it’s your turn!

The Native Americans of the 

Verde Valley traded with 

other cultures. Along with 

items from far away, they 

learned new ideas from 

people who were different 

from them. We do the same 

thing today—Cinquains 

are a kind of American 

poetry that was inspired by 

Japanese Haiku!

 Learning

 from Others
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Share with a Park Ranger...

Write about something you learned today that surprised you or that you found 

interesting. Draw a picture to go along with what you learned. Share your picture with 

the park ranger when you get your badge.

Draw here!
Certif ci ate of Achievement This certifies that

has admirably performed all the necessary requirements

and has qualified to become a Junior Park Ranger at

Montezuma Castle National Monument

Sea el d on this Date

By Park Ranger
Montezuma Castle National Monument • P.O. Box 219 • Camp Verde, Arizona 86322

As a Junior Ranger, I will

Leave all plants, animals, and other objects as I found them for others to enjoy,

Put litter in a trash can or recycle bin,

Learn more about national parks all over the United States, and

Share what I have learned with my family and friends.

Park Rangers come from many backgrounds. The rangers who wrote this 

book came from Arizona, Tennessee, New York, Washington, Michigan, 

and Venezuela. Some are naturalists and scientists, while others are artists, 

linguists, police officers, computer programmers, and veterans.

One of rangers’ most important jobs is preserving America’s special places 

and telling their stories until the next generation of rangers is ready to take 

over. Will you someday wear the flat hat and protect these national treasures?

Final Thought