 Here you see a pithouse found on the way up to the Well's parking area. This is a remnant of the Hohokam Indians, the area's first permanent residents.
The Hohokam moved into the area approximately 1400 years ago. They were known for building their houses half buried, constructed from poles, brush, and mud.
The year round water source from the well allowed the Hohokam to irrigate and raise a variety of crops in this area. |
The water from the well and a local river create a strip of lush vegetation down the middle of the valley. Here you see cottonwoods changing color surrounded by sycamores and other types of brush. 
Again, a view of the area from higher up near the Well. You can see the parking lot as well as the mountains in the background. 
These are some of the cliff dwellings above the water. While there are other buildings on flatter ground in the area, these cliff dwellings had direct access to the water. Too bad fish don't grow in the well water, it would be easy to throw a line out the front room window.
Here you can see algae floating on the water. Amphipods, a small shrimplike animal, lives on the algae and other life feeds on the amphipods. Keep an eye out and you might see a turtle or muskrat in the area. Other area animals come down for water, but are more likely to get water on the other side of the swallets, cracks in the limestone where the water drains out of the sink.
