Content created: 1996-10-11, revised 2010-09-03
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It is a pet peeve of mine that many (most?) works on the Southwest make reference to its many river valleys, but do not include an over-all reference map. The simplified reference map on this page identifies the major river valleys along which the Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloans) and their neighbors settled. If you print it out, it should fit comfortably on a notebook page.

The map shows all of Artizona and parts of (clockwise from the upper left) Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The area around the point where all four states converge is referred to as the "Four Corners," and is conveniently considered to be the heart of Anasazi territory.

The Hopi (“Western Pueblo”) reservation is in northern Arizona. “Eastern Pueblo” reservations are in New Mexico. The Tewa are between these groupings. These Puebloan groups are usually considered to be the modern descendants of the ancient peoples listed on the map.

Note that all the rivers of the area ultimately are part of three great river systems:

1. The Colorado River empties into the Sea of Cortez. The tirbutaries shown on the map include the Green, Escalante, San Juan, Animas, Chinle, Little Colorado, Verde, Salt, San Carlos, San Pedro, and Gila rivers.
2. The Rio Grande passes through New Mexico and then defines the Texas-Mexico border and eventually empties into the western side of the Gulf of Mexico. Its tributaries shown on the map include the Rio Puerco and the Pecos. (The Pecos River joins with the Rio Grande south of the area on this map.)
3. The Canadian and Arkansas Rivers empty into the Mississippi system east of the area shown on this map.

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