Excerpt from Tj Ruin: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico The TJ Ruin overlooks the half-mile-wide valley of the Gila River at the confluence of the West and Middle Forks (figure The site lies at the edge of a 100 foot high bluff of exposed Gila Conglomerate on the north side of the river at an elevation of 5775 feet. Covering the site is a dense stand of saltbush which concentrates on the house mounds and masonry features. Grama grass and other range grasses cover the exposed mesa top while mixed juniper and walnut woodlands encroach on the old polo field which lies just north of the ruin. In the valley below, the river supports denser stands of cottonwood, sycamore, walnut, wild grapes, willow, reeds and other plants of a more mesic community. In sheltered side canyons south of the river, Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir give way, on canyon 510pes, to more xeric communities of pinon, yucca, prickly pear, and oaks. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.

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