Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a U.S. National Monument created to protect Mogollon cliff dwellings in the Gila Wilderness on the headwaters of the Gila River in southwest New Mexico. The national monument was established by President Theodore Roosevelt through executive proclamation on November 16, 1907. It is located in the extreme southern portion of Catron County. Visitors can access the monument by traveling northbound from Silver City, New Mexico, on NM 15. Cliff dwellings in New Mexico Considered by archaeologists to be upon the northernmost portion of the Mogollon people's sphere of influence, the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is home to two prominent ruins sites among a collection of smaller sites located within the Gila Wilderness inside the Gila National Forest. The landscape in the monument ranges in elevation from around above sea level and follows the West Fork and the Middle Fork of the Gila River. The terrain around the ruins is rugged and arid, and contains steep-sided canyons cut by shallow spring rivers and mesas and bluffs forested with Ponderosa pine, Gambel's oak, Douglas fir, New Mexico juniper, pinon pine, and alligator juniper (among others). The area geologic history stems from the Oligocene epoch and volcanic activity that subsequently covered the area with ash. The monument's hot springs are remnants of this volcanic history. The monument consists of and contains the remains of a Mimbres Culture community in various locations, two of which are most prominent. The namesake ruins' developers made use of natural caves to build interlinked dwellings within five cliff alcoves above Cliff Dweller Canyon. The TJ Ruins are located on a bluff overlooking the Gila River. The Mogollon peoples are believed to have inhabited the region from between 1275 and into the early 14th century, during the Pueblo III Era. It is not known why the community was abandoned. Archaeologists have identified 46 rooms in the five caves on Cliff Dweller Canyon, and believe they were occupied by 10 to 15 families. The "Heart-Bar Site" or the TJ Ruins (named for the former ranch from which the mesa takes its name) located on TJ Mesa are largely un-excavated. Other ruins include Javalina House, about 1/3 mile above the main ruin, West Fork Ruin, currently under Highway 15 across from Woody Corral, Three Mile Ruin along the west fork of the Gila River, and middle fork of the Gila River at the 11-room