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Salinas Valley was inhabited by the Mogollon native American tribe, who were joined by the Anasazi, who came down from the Colorado plateau around 1300, after which the two tribes shared their knowledge with each other. Attracted by the salt the native tribes extracted from their lakes, the Spanish colonised the region in 1598, founding missions run by the Franciscans. The three ruined missions give an insight into the astonishing merging of tradition between the sacred kivas of the Pueblo people and the Church.