Rising up from El Paso, through the center of New Mexico, dividing the state in half is the Rio Grande River. Somewhat central of that transection and some sixty miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico along that fertile strip is a riparian ecozone known as the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Preserve. Here is found all kinds of wildlife and especially the feathered kind. After photographing a feathered feeding frenzy, I leave for the next destination, the Salinas Ruins.

First, I drive north along the river, then east on US 60, as this roadway ever rises upwards towards the mountains. The highway follows a natural gap in the mountains between the Manzano Mountain wilderness to the north and Whiteface Mountain in the south. This is a desert area, extremely dry when compared to the river behind me and now far below. The highway emerges onto a large plateau expanding eastward many miles towards the high plains. Directly to my east is the expansive Las Salinas Lake Basin, and here is where I find the numerous settlements of the stone stackers known as the Salinas Culture.

The word Salinas is the Spanish word meaning Saltworks and most likely refers to the Salina Lake just to the northeast of the ruins. In 1598 CE, Spanish Juan Oñate established a permanent colony for New Spain that he called Sal, the Spanish word for salt, which was abundant throughout the Salinas Valley

Not much is know about the ancient people who lived here, but little doubt is cast on the fact that they did live here. However, much information is written about the Spanish missions that predominated the area from 1598 CE.

It seems that this pueblo site was settled by both the Anasazi and Mogollon people. Borrowing from one another, the combined community adapted to the changes in their environment, developed new traditions which helped them to survive.

It is believed that the Salinas Culture developed from two other cultures, the Anasazi to the north and the Mogollon to the south and this settlement of the Salinas, more than likely came about from the desire of these two cultures to trade goods and materials with one another.

Here at the ruins, there was once a thriving stone stacker community inhabited by the people who spoke the Tompiro language, this remote frontier area, centrally located between the Anasazi to the north, and the Mogollon to the south. The Salinas settlement served as an outpost and trade center between these two surrounding cultures.

The Salinas spoke the Tompiro language which is of the Tanoan family group of languages but was closest to their nearest language relatives, the Piro family of the Tiwa division family which included the Piro, Jumano and Tompiro. Both the Piro and Tompiro lived along the nearby Rio Grande River area in New Mexico. The Jumano also lived along the Rio Grande, but further downstream in the West Texas area and spread out from there across western Texas. Some Jumano moved into the Great Plains Region along the Colorado River in central Texas.

The Salinas′ language of Tompiro is now extinct.