Illustrated Cortez scene — AI-generated artwork behind this city's word search puzzlePrintable Cortez word search — 15×15 letter grid with 8 words to find including CORTEZ, MONTEZUMA, DOLORES, plus 4 hidden bonus words
Play a Cortez word search free online. We built the 12-word list around landmarks, neighborhoods, and local flavor, then scattered it across a 15×15 grid — horizontal, vertical and diagonal. Find them all to clear the board.
Words to find: CORTEZ, MONTEZUMA, DOLORES, MESA, VERDE, PUEBLOAN, ANCESTRAL, ARCHAEOLOGY, COLORADO, SOUTHWEST, MANCOS, DURANGO.
Every word on the list appears exactly once. Words can run forwards or backwards, so scan both directions before you move on.
Cortez word list, defined
MESA/mɛsə/ · noun
A tableland or a flat-topped hill, typically with steep sides, formed by erosion of a plateau. A type of landform. Related: plateau, tableland, flat, plain.
ANCESTRAL/ənˈsɛstrəl/ · adjective
Relating to, inherited from, or characteristic of one's ancestors; belonging to or descending from forebears of an earlier generation. Related: hereditary, inherited, familial, lineal.
ARCHAEOLOGY/ˌɑːrkiˈɒlədʒi/ · noun
The scientific study of past human life and activity through the examination of material remains such as artifacts, structures, and landscapes. Related: excavation, antiquarianism, paleontology, prehistory.
COLORADO/ˌkɒləˈrɑːdoʊ/ · noun
A state in the western United States, in the Rocky Mountain region; also a major river of the southwestern US and northern Mexico that rises in the Rocky Mountains and flows into the Gulf of California. Related: Centennial State.
SOUTHWEST/ˈsaʊθwɛst/ · noun, verb, adjective
The region of the compass that is between south and west, or a direction or location in that region. To move or direct something in that direction. Related: south, west, southerly, westerly.