It is difficult to discuss the cliff dwellings without dividing them into groups according to size. The hundreds of ruins vary from one room to over 200 rooms. Only by dividing them into groups is it possible to show the relative abundance of ruins of various sizes. The table given below is of no real importance. It is merely one person’s way of dividing the ruins by size for discussion purposes. One could just as well divide them into three groups or ten groups. And the number of rooms selected for each group is only of relative importance. The numbers merely provide a yardstick for discussion purposes. For convenience only, the hundreds of cliff dwellings will be divided into the following five size groups: Very large more than 100 rooms. Large 51 to 100 rooms. Medium 21 to 50 rooms. Small 6 to 20 rooms. Very small 1 to 5 rooms. Before considering the relative abundance of the ruins in the various groups it would be well to consider the total number of cliff dwellings in the Mesa Verde. The answer is, of course, that no one knows and probably no one will ever know. There are too many canyons and too many ruins! In 1891, Richard Wetherill told Nordenskiold, the Swedish archeologist, that there were more than 500 cliff dwellings in the Mancos Canyon and its side canyons. Many more were discovered later. Certainly no one knew the ruins of the area better than the Wetherills. As Charles Mason stated, their search for ruins was a “business proposition.” If Richard Wetherill felt there were more than 500, it probably is a safe figure to use. How many “more,” is of little importance. THE VERY LARGE CLIFF DWELLINGS Probably not more than four of the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings fall into this group. The difficulty is that of all the cliff dwellings only eight have been completely excavated. It is impossible to make even a fairly accurate count of the rooms in a large unexcavated ruin for the mass of debris often hides the lower walls. Cliff Palace, with its 23 kivas and more than 200 rooms is, of course, the largest, but originally Long House may have been a close rival in size. Long House was so badly knocked about by the early explorers that it is impossible even to estimate how large it once was. Certainly it was second in size. The other two that fall into this group are Spruce Tree House and Spring House. Excavation and careful counting of rooms would perhaps add one or two more to this group but at present one can not be certain. [Illustration: When the matter of size is considered, Cliff Palace, of which a portion is shown here, heads the list. Dr. Jesse W. Fewkes, who cleaned out and repaired the ruin in 1909, counted 23 kivas and over 200 rooms. Originally it contained many more rooms for several high sections had fallen before excavation.] LARGE CLIFF DWELLINGS