Posi-Ouinge

Only the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) could hope to preserve an area like Posi-Ouinge. With little evidence to the casual visitor of the importance of the Posi-Ouinge site, most travelers pass through the area to see the various hot springs that attracted Native Americans to the area in the 12th century and kept them there until the arrival of the Spanish in the late 16th century. The untrained eye may have difficulty visualizing the structures the Native American Tewa Tribe built on Barranca Hill immediately above the hot springs. Archeologists note that over 2,000 rooms housing 1,000 permanent residents and an untold number of visitors once graced the crest and side of the hill. This area is an example of how the Bureau of Land Management works to preserve a historically significant space while preparing it for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

The Posi-Ouinge ruins lie above Ojo Caliente, situated 40 miles west of Taos and 50 miles north of Santa Fe, NM. Behind the modern buildings servicing the mineral hot springs, the BLM maintains trails that wander up and down the hillside, taking visitors past evidence of ancient habitats and immense pottery shard fields left by the Tewa late in the 16th century. The BLM policy to leave no trace behind includes a request to leave shards where they lay. Bureau of Land Management campers in this section of the country find themselves within 253 miles of Mesa Verde National Park, 268 miles of White Sands National Park, and 318 miles of Carlsbad Caverns National Park.