The Salado people displaced the earlier within this end of the Tonto Basin by about 1150 CE (Current Era).  It may be more correct to say that Salado ways replaced the Hohokam ways -- it may be that the people were the same, and just adopted different traits.
   Their name comes from the nearby Rio Salado (Salt River), named by the Spaniards for the white coatings of mineral salts along the rock walls within the river's gorge, not far away.
   These cliff dwellings were only in use for around 150 years, before the occupants abandoned them around 1450 CE.  As with other cultures in the American Southwest, the disappearance of the Salado remains a mystery.
 
   << Previous View

   See the GeoHistory page if you want to know more about why the landscape looks the way it does, or return to the map of "The Superstition Mountains" for more view locations.
   You can also send this as an E-Postcard to your friends!