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Photo: Sgt. Fullerton, USAAF, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
In 1540, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, a Spanish explorer, passed through the valley, where he is said to have spent time at an Indian village here. Today, the monument preserves the ruins of that village, Kuaua Pueblo. You can climb down into a reconstructed kiva and see Spanish colonial artifacts on exhibit at the museum. There's also a lovely little picnic area on the bank of the Rio Grande.
Coronado Historic Site is the Tiwa pueblo of Kuaua and a historic site that is part of the State-governed Museum of New Mexico system. It is located along U.S. Federal Route 550, 1 mile west of Bernalillo and 16 miles north of Albuquerque.
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