Editing Montezuma County, Colorado (section)

==History==
Montezuma County has been settled since approximately AD 600, and had an estimated population of approximately 100,000, four times its current population, in the 12th century. However, a series of events caused virtually all permanent settlements to be abandoned between 1200 and 1300, and the area was contested between nomadic Ute and [[Navajo people|Navajo]] bands until resettlement occurred in the 1870s. Montezuma County was created out of the western portion of [[La Plata County, Colorado|La Plata County]] by the Colorado Legislature in April 1889. It was named in honor of [[Moctezuma II]], who reigned as emperor of the [[Aztec]] Empire in Mexico during its decline at the hands of the Spanish invasion. The building ruins in [[Mesa Verde National Park]] were thought to be of Aztec origin at the time.