The Sierra Ancha Cliff Dwellings are a series of Pre-Columbian

Pre-Columbian era

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...

 native American

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 cliff-dwelling

Cliff-dwelling

Cliff dwelling is the general archaeological term for the habitations of prehistorical peoples, formed by using niches or caves in high cliffs, with more or less excavation or with additions in the way of masonry....

s located in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness

Sierra Ancha Wilderness

The Sierra Ancha Wilderness area comprises within the Tonto National Forest, Arizona, USA. The terrain varies from box canyons to high cliffs and pine-covered mountains. Elevations range from lows of about to a high of at Aztec Peak...

. They were built between 1280 and 1350 by the Salado

Salado culture

Salado culture, or Salado Horizon, was a human culture of the Tonto Basin in southeastern Arizona from approximately 1150 CE through the 15th century....

people. The Sierra Ancha is home to several prominent ruin sites known as the Devil's Chasm, the Canyon Creek Ruins, the Pueblo Canyon Ruins, the Cold Springs Ruins and the Cooper Forks Canyon Ruins. Collectively they have been called the Cherry Creek Ruins.