Though the surroundings of the Cibolan pueblos and ruins exhibit the ordinary characteristics of plateau scenery, they have not the monotonous and forbidding aspect that characterizes the mesas and valleys of Tusayan. The dusty sage brush and the stunted cedar and piñon, as in Tusayan, form a conspicuous feature of the landscape, but the cliffs are often diversified in color, being in cases composed of alternating bands of light gray and dark red sandstone, which impart a considerable variety of tints to the landscape. The contrast is heightened by the proximity of the Zuñi Mountains, an extensive timber-bearing range that approaches within 12 miles of Zuñi, narrowing down the extent of the surrounding arid region.

Cibola has also been more generously treated by nature in the matter of water supply, as the province contains a perennial stream which has its sources near the village of Nutria, and, flowing past the pueblo of Zuñi, disappears a few miles below. During the rainy season the river empties into the Colorado Chiquito. The Cibolan pueblos are built on the foothills of mesas or in open valley sites, surrounded by broad fields, while the Tusayan villages are perched upon mesa promontories that overlook the valley lands used for cultivation.

[ PLANS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF RUINS.]

Plate XLVII. Hawikuh, view.

[ HAWIKUH.]

The village of Hawikuh, situated about 15 miles to the south of Zuñi, consisted of irregular groups of densely clustered cells, occupying the point of a spur projecting from a low rounded hill. The houses are in such a ruined condition that few separate rooms can be traced, and these are much obscured by débris. This débris covers the entire area extending down the east slope of the hill to the site of the church. The large amount of débris and the comparative thinness of such walls as are found suggest that the dwellings had been densely clustered, and carried to the height of several stories. Much of the space between the village on the hill and the site of the Spanish church on the plain at its foot is covered with masonry débris, part of which has slid down from above (Pl. XLVI).

[full size]
Plate XLVI. Hawikuh, plan.