Galisteo Basin

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Galisteo Basin is a region in north-central New Mexico 15 miles south of Santa Fe. The basin is fed by the Galisteo Creek. Northeast of Galisteo Basin lies the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and on the southwest lie the Sandia Mountains. Because of its location lying between mountain ranges and connecting the Rio Grande Valley with the Great Plains, the Galisteo Basin was used as a trade route by prehistoric and historic indigenous and later also by the Spanish explorers.

The Galisteo Basin has a rich cultural history being a part of Pueblo culture (Eastern Anasazi). It is widely considered one of the most impressive archeological sites in the United States. Most of the sites are currently closed to the public. The most famous Pueblo ruin within the basin is San Cristobal Pueblo. From the 1300s to the early 1400s, the pueblos in Galisteo Basin were trade centers. After 1680, the basin was abandoned. Various peoples, known and unknown, inhabited the area, including the Tano (Arizona Tewa), East Rio Grande Keresan, Pecos, and Tewa.

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[edit] Further reading

Christina Singleton Mednick: San Cristobal: Voices and Visions of the Galisteo Basin. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1996. ISBN 978-0890132920