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The Central Arizona Project (CAP) , Indian Distribution Division (IDD) is designed to deliver allocated CAP water to Indian users. The Middle Gila Basin Overview is the initial cultural resources planning study for the system. It summarizes and evaluates the extant data in an area 3,570 square miles (9,139 sq km) large, centered on the Gila River. The data suggests that archaeological sites in this area are numerous and varied, but most of all poorly-studied despite 100 years of research. A defensible culture history and chronology exists for only 35 percent of the 12,000 years of human history in the Basin. Given this, an assumption that basic interpretive frameworks are available to support sophisticated processural arguments is inaccurate. Further data analysis shows that site distributions correspond to physical and biotic zones in only the most general sense. Sites tend to be large and densely-clustered on the second terraces of major rivers; large sites, less-closely spaced are also in higher interior valleys. Sites on upper bajadas slopes appear to be specialized activity areas, while valley bottom sites contain material suggestive of encampments and villages. Most important, the patterns of previous field investigdtions more than anything else are responsible for apparent clusterings of sites. Large areas of the Middle Gila Basin remain unexplored. CAP-IDD systems are likely to encounter substantial archaeological remains along almost any intended, gravity- flow canal alignment, and in many field areas proposed for agricultural development. Of these remains, the majority can qualify, probably, for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Place because, in reality, we know so little about them. See the appendices for a full site list.

15 mi of Extra High Voltage transmission line corridor, 2 mi of access road, and 0.9 mi of 115kV transmission line from the Silverking Substation were surveyed for archaeological resources by the Museum of Northern Arizona in April, 1978. Twelve prehistoric and historic Anglo-American affiliation archaeological sites were identified along the EHV corridor between the Silverking Substation and the Tonto National Forest boundary. An isolated recent feature, not given a site designation, was found on the proposed access road alignment. No sites were found on the 115kV alignment. The report describes the survey and its results and makes detailed archaeological clearance recommendations for the surveyed impact areas. Archaeological clearance is recommended for all surveyed areas except for the actual areas of the 12 recorded sites in the EHV corridor.

At the request of Salt River Project, the Museum of Northern Arizona conducted archaeological investigations in two 200 ft. wide corridors east-northeast of St. Johns, Arizona. Archaeological survey was conducted in order to determine if any archaeological material would be negatively impacted as a result of drilling operations related to tests being conducted for construction of an evaporation pond associated with the Coronado Generating Station plant site. An extensive historic and prehistoric site, NA13,488 - Ariz. Q:7:37 (MNA), was located in and adjacent to the east half of the south corridor. As a result, and due to the need for additional information concerning the site, archaeological clearance is not recommended for that 200 ft. wide, 0.5 mi. long portion of the south corridor. Archaeological clearance is recommended for the 200 ft. wide by 1.25 mi. long corridors along the remaining south and west boundaries. This file includes a nomination form for the Arizona State Register of Historic Sites.

Flooding along the Salt, Gila, Verde, and Agua Fria Rivers in February and March of 1978 resulted in extensive damage to property in Central Arizona and in the disruption of ground transportation and commerce in the greater Phoenix area. Major flooding also occurred along these rivers in December, 1978 and February, 1980. The recognition of this flooding problem, and of requirements for the regulatory storage of Central Arizona Project (CAP) water, prompted the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to initiate the Central Arizona Water Control Study (CAWCS) in July of 1978. The objectives of the CAWCS were to identify and evaluate alternative measures for flood control and regulatory water storage in Central Arizona. Both structural (i.e., dam construction or modification, levee construction), and nonstructural (i.e., flood proofing, flood plain regulation, water exchange) alternatives were to be considered within a large study area. A Safety of Dams (SOD) issue was subsequently recognized and incorporated in the CAWCS study process. As the study progressed through a consideration of eight alternative plans, a preferred alternative (the agency-proposed action) to address these objectives was selected by Reclamation. Several critical factors were considered in comparing alternative plans, and in defining the preferred plan alternative, including: - flood control performance of a plan - regulatory water storage performance - dam safety - economics (cost/benefits) - environmental impacts - social impacts - institutional constraints Each of these factors was thoroughly evaluated in relation to the plan alternatives during the three stage study process. Stage I established the parameters of the flood control and regulatory water storage problems to be addressed, defined a number of actions (termed elements) which might contribute to the resolution of these problems, and recommended specific actions that warranted further study on the basis of their performance characteristics. Of the 34 elements reviewed during Stage I, 20 were recommended for further consideration at a Stage II level of analysis. During the Stage II analysis, competing elements (those which served similar functions but which were at different locations) were compared in order to define and retain those which best served a particular function. These 10 remaining elements were then combined into 13 intermediate plans, termed systems, each of which could provide for flood control and regulatory water storage. At the beginning of Stage III, 10 elements remained in the study. These were combined into seven candidate plans, each of which satisfied flood control, safety of dams, and regulatory water storage objectives. An eighth plan (No Action) was also defined as a basis for evaluating the effects of a proposed undertaking. As the critical factors were considered in relation to each plan, two of the eight plans (numbers 4 and 5) were eliminated due to cost and associated adverse social and environmental effects. The remaining six plans were analyzed in detail; one plan (dubbed Plan 6) was subsequently identified as the agency-proposed action. In undertaking this study, Reclamation contracted with the firm of Dames and Moore to assist in defining and evaluating the alternative plans, and to prepare a draft environmental impact statement for the agency-proposed action. Archaeological Research Services, Inc., and the Arizona State University, Department of Anthropology (Office of Cultural Resource Management) were under subcontract to Dames and Moore for the historic and prehistoric cultural resource aspects of the CAWCS respectively. The historic cultural resource study was initiated in April, 1979, and concluded in December, 1981, and involved preparing reports and supporting documentation relative to each of the study stages above. For the purposes of this study, historic cultural resources are defined as those sites or properties which were occupied after the time at which written records became available for an area. As applied to the Southwestern United States, historic sites may include those in existence at or subsequent to the period of initial Spanish contact (during the 16th century).

In 1978, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) directed the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA) to complete an intensive archaeological survey of the proposed alignment for the Salt-Gila Aqueduct, a feature of the Central Arizona Project. The survey area was 11,115 acres and included the 60 mile-long transmission line (with a typical width of 200 meters), three proposed utility line locations, one flood retention dike location, 11 possible spoil or realignment areas, and a subsidence well. Seventy archaeological sites were recorded during this survey. Following pedestrian survey, the MNA also conducted archaeological testing at selected sites to evaluate their eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. The survey had two general goals: 1) to assess the significance of archaeological resources in the project area and to recommend ways of mitigating adverse impacts to them which might result from construction and 2) to generate and synthesize data that would significantly enhance scientific knowledge about the project area, specifically about the use of the area through time. This report addresses the second goal and synthesizes the survey data providing models of aboriginal utilization of riverine and nonriverine resource zones in the study area. The mitigation report that addresses the first goal can be found at tDAR ID 53593.

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) directed the Arizona State Museum to conduct a cultural resources survey of the Salt-Gila (Fannin-McFarland) Aqueduct as part of its environmental assessment of the impacts of the proposed Central Arizona Project. Twenty-two archaeological sites and two major areas of cultural activity were identified during the survey. Of these sites, 19 were recommended for further investigation and 5 were suggested for clearance (not eligible for the NRHP). The majority of the sites in the project area are prehistoric and are associated with the Hohokam archaeological culture. Only two historical-period sites were identified. The prehistoric sites were categorized according to site function as (1) long-term multiple activity sites, (2) short-term limited activity sites, (3) temporary activity sites, and (4) lithic activity sites. Long term multiple use sites are the largest in size and range from Colonial to Classic period (A.D. 500-1400) in age. The majority of the other sites also date to the Hohokam occupation, however, there were used for shorter periods of time.

This document consists of site descriptions for sites located on the Salt River Indian Reservation Lands. Those contributing content to the report include Gerald Bair, Susan B. Belt, Dav Buge, Thomas Cartledge, William G. Holiday, Susanne LaFollette, Minnabell E. Laughlin, Chad Phinney, Erwin R. Ray, Linda Richards, Helen P. Wells, Regge N. Wiseman, Robert York, and Betsy R. Zeligs.

In 1892 Judge Joseph H. Kibbey, one of Arizona's illustrious pioneers, described the Salt River Valley before the settlers came as a desert, uninhabited except by jack rabbits, coyotes, and rattlesnakes. Its main vegetation was sagebrush and cactus. It was a level, fertile valley about fifteen miles wide, through which the Salt River flowed west for forty miles to its junction with the Gila. The Salt River was a fluctuating stream. Sometimes it was a raging torrent which flooded the level land on either side, and sometimes it dwindled to a mere trickle. To the early settlers, stated Judge Kibbey, the water of this unstable river became an as essential to the maintenance of human life as air itself. The first homeseekers entering the Salt River Valley following the Civil War were quick to realize that the key to the development of that area was irrigation. Before them lay the remains of ancient waterways that stretched for miles along both banks of the Salt, attesting to the fact that in the dim past other civilizations had flourished there. They noted, too, that the gradual descent of the river through the valley was so gentle that at almost any point a ditch could be made. Encouraged by the prospects, early settlers cut small channels and began raising garden vegetables, as well as hay and grain, finding markets for these products in the reactivated army posts in the territory. In time, however, the agricultural potential of the valley became more apparent, and associations were organized to construct elaborate waterways capable of irrigating thousands of acres. Typical of these large-scale ventures was the Tempe Irrigating Canal Company, which for over fifty years stood as a monument to the efforts and determination of Arizona's desert pioneers to create permanent homes in a semiarid region.