Mesa Verde Eclipse Viewing Information

Above, Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park will be closed due to tribal eclipse rituals, the next best place to view the annular eclipse on October 14 in the Four Corners would be Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

The path of the eclipse will take it over the park.

However, there's just one problem: if there's still a government shutdown on October 14, Mesa Verde National Park will be closed. That's unless the state of Colorado pays to keep it open.

In case there's no shutdown on that date, The Denver Post has an article on everything one needs to know about viewing it at Mesa Verde.

They begin it with:

NASA personnel will soon be in Colorado for a celestial event that hasn’t been visible from North America in more than a decade.

On Oct. 14, Mesa Verde National Park in Southwest Colorado will be almost directly in line with the annular solar eclipse. During this type of event, the moon comes between the Earth and the sun and blocks most of the light.

Because the moon will be at one of its furthest points away from the Earth, the moon will appear smaller than the sun and not block its light completely. Instead, the moon will appear as a black dot surrounded by what’s called a “ring of fire.”

It’s a stunning sight – one that can only be viewed safely with the aid of protective eyewear, according to NASA. That’s why Mesa Verde is expecting robust crowds during the otherwise sleepy shoulder season.

“This event might be pretty huge compared to an average October day,” said Eric Sainio, supervisory park ranger at Mesa Verde. “NASA has told us that in former annual eclipses, they’ve seen crowds something like a busy summer day plus 50%. For us, that might mean around 6,000 people.”

The last time an annular solar eclipse was visible from North America was in 2012. Here’s what you need to know if you’re thinking about making the trek to Mesa Verde to witness the event.

Note: These details may be affected by the federal government shutdown. Visit nps.gov for the latest information about park closures.

To read more, go here.