Following the Explorers
Though nothing spectacular survives, travelers can find many rewarding historical places that conjure up the Spanish conquistadores and the natives they encountered. The four principal NPS sites are described briefly in the following pages. Many other parks and several Indian communities also preserve landscapes directly associated with the explorations. They are listed below. All these places are well worth a visit and several are worth a journey to anyone interested in the beginnings of North American history.
| Ocmulgee National Monument Macon, GA 31201 | Ancient mounds built by people of the Mississippian culture. De Soto passed through this region in 1540. |
| Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site Cartersville, GA 30120 | De Soto visited this town (called Itaba) in August 1540. |
| Mound State Monument Moundville, AL 35474 | A farming town which flourished AD 1000-1500; representative of the powerful chiefdoms found by De Soto. |
| Parkin Archeological State Park Parkin, AR 72373 | Believed to be a center of an important chiefdom (Casqui) visited by De Soto in 1541. |
| Coronado State Monument P.O. Box 95 Bernalillo, NM 87004 | A Pueblo village visited by the Coronado expedition in 1540. Polychrome murals in the kiva are a prize exhibit. |
| Pueblo of Acoma P.O. Box 309 New Mexico 87034 | A fortress town inhabited by descendents of the Pueblo people who befriended the Alvarado party in 1540. |
| Zuni Pueblo Box 339 Zuni, NM 87327 | The original Cibola of Spanish legend. Háwikuh, the place of Coronado’s first encounter with Pueblo Indians, is now a ruin. |