The Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is a complex of three

Spanish missions The Spanish missions in the Americas were Catholic missions established by the Spanish Empire during the 16th to 19th centuries in the period of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. These missions were scattered throughout the entirety of ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, near Mountainair. The main park visitor center is in Mountainair. Construction of the missions began in 1622 and was completed in 1635.

History

Once, thriving Native American trade communities of

Tiwa Tiwa and Tigua may refer to: * Tiwa Puebloans, an ethnic group of New Mexico, US * Tiwa (Lalung), an ethnic group of north-eastern India * Tiwa language (India), a Sino-Tibetan language of India * Tiwa languages, a group of Tanoan languages of the ...

and Tompiro language-speaking

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

people inhabited this remote frontier area of central New Mexico. Early in the 17th century Spanish

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

found the area ripe for their

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

efforts. However, by the late 1670s the entire Salinas District, as the Spanish had named it, was depopulated of both Indian and Spaniard. What remains today are austere yet beautiful reminders of this earliest contact between Pueblo Indians and Spanish Colonials: the ruins of three mission churches, at Quarai, Abó, and Gran Quivira and the partially excavated

pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

of Las Humanas or, as it is known today, the Gran Quivira pueblo. The site was first proclaimed Gran Quivira National Monument on November 1, 1909. Administered by the National Park Service, the National Monument for this site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on October 15, 1966. On December 19, 1980 the footprint of the site was enlarged two include two New Mexico State Monuments on November 2, 1981. The enlarged site was renamed on October 28, 1988.

Quarai Ruins

The Quarai Ruins are located about 8 miles north of Mountainair, at about 6650 feet (2026 m) above sea level. There is a visitor center and a 0.5 mile (0.8 km) trail through the ruins. In a forest, an interpretive sign reads that when Francis Gardes traveled through the area, he heard birds sing a song called "When Explorers Came". Francis Gardes's trail became Francis Garde National Historic Trail, and it passes through Quarai.

Abó Ruins

The Abo Pueblo community was established in the 11th Century on the edge of the existing pueblo culture, and often attracted roaming Nomadic Tribes of the eastern plains. San Gregorio de Abó Mission (located in Mountainair, New Mexico) was one of three Spanish missions constructed in or near the pueblos of central New Mexico. These missions, built in 1600s, are now a part of the Salinas Pueblo National Monument which includes San Gregorio de Abó Mission, Quarai and Gran Quivera. The mission at Abo was established in 1625 by Fray Francisco Fonte.

Gran Quivira Ruins

The Gran Quivira Ruins are located about 25 miles south of Mountainair, at about 6500 feet (1981 m) above sea level. There is a small visitor center near the parking lot. A 0.5 mile (0.8 km) trail leads through partially excavated pueblo ruins and the ruins of the uncompleted mission church. The Gran Quivera Historic District was listed separately on the

in 2015.

Gallery

File:Quarairuin.JPG, Mission ruins at Quarai File:Aboruins.JPG, Mission ruins at Abó File:Kiva and church at Abo.jpg,

Kiva A kiva is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circular and underground ...

at Abó File:Gran Quivira Ruins in Salinas Pueblo Mission National Monument, New Mexico.jpg, Pueblo and mission ruins at Gran Quivira File:Salinas basin.jpg, A map of the 17th century pueblos in the Salinas area including the three surviving ruins in the National Monument: Quarai, Abo, and Gran Quivira

References

External links

*Official NPS website
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument

American Southwest, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{authority control Archaeological sites in New Mexico Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Spanish missions in New Mexico National Park Service National Monuments in New Mexico Ruins in the United States Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Archaeological museums in New Mexico Protected areas established in 1909 Museums in Torrance County, New Mexico Museums in Socorro County, New Mexico Native American museums in New Mexico Protected areas of Socorro County, New Mexico Protected areas of Torrance County, New Mexico 1909 establishments in New Mexico Territory Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Torrance County, New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Socorro County, New Mexico es:Monumento Nacional Misión Salinas Pueblo#top