The Quarai Ruins are located about 8 miles north of Mountainair, New Mexico at about 6650 feet elevation.

The mission and convento, known as the La Purisma Concepcion de Quarai were established in 1626 CE directed by Fray Juan Gutierez de la Chica. The construction of the mission buildings began in 1627 and continued until 1632.

Unlike other missions built in the area, this mission also had a square Kiva that was built within the convento.

However, like many of the other missions of the Salinas Culture homelands, disease, drought, famine and Apache raids cause the complete abandonment of Quiarai as early as 1678.

In the early 1820s, Miguel and Juan Lucero and their families were the first non-native people to move back to Quarai. They found the remains of the Quarai church and convento in fair condition, and the Lucero families moved into rooms of the convento. They cleaned out several of the rooms, repaired the walls and remaining roofs. Later, they added rooms and built new houses from the rubble in the mission ruins.

By the 1830s, the Apache resumed their raids, burning the church and convento, causing the roof to collapse and left what the Lucero families had built to be destroyed. This was the cause of the second abandonment of Quirai.

Several attempts of rebuilding the structures in the following years but most of the efforts did nor result in a permanent resettling of the ruins.

Besides the Abo Pueblo, Gran Quivira Pueblo and Quarai Pueblo ruin sites, there are six other sites in Las Salinas Lake Basin that have been located.

These Salinas Pueblo sites of the ancient stone stackers, which moderns have named are the following: Chilili Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo, Pardo Pueblo, Tabira (Blanco) Pueblo, Tajoque Pueblo, and Tenabo Pueblo.