| Expedition
Camps #27 and 28: These camps were most likely located
within the boundaries of the Gila Bend Indian Reservation, home to the
San Lucy District of the Tohono O’odham today. Most of the Reservation
area is under management of the Army Corps of Engineers for the Painted
Rocks Reservoir. Fortaleza, an important spiritual site to the San Lucy
District, is located on top of a volcanic escarpment on the Gila Bend Indian
reservation in the vicinity of the town of Gila Bend. The site is within
the expedition corridor and may be near the villages visited by Anza. The
site was probably settled about 1200 A.D. by migrants from the Tucson area
after it was abandoned by the Hohokam. The village contained three large
reinforced adobe ceremonial chambers and rooms grouped in social units
of two or three houses.
Painted Rocks:
The Painted Rocks petroglyph site is within the historic corridor. Since
the site is under BLM management, it will be a federal component of the
trail, offering interpretation of the Anza trek as well as many of the
other historic uses of the site and trail. The site offers a fine example
of early petroglyphs etched on a small mound of black rocks. It can be
reached from Interstate 8 west of Gila Bend, exit 102. Camping and water
are available.
Expedition Camp
#31: The ADOT Interstate 8 roadside rest at Sentinel provides
an opportunity to interpret the Agua Caliente camp and to orient the traveler
to the Gila River camps. |
