I was surprisingly impressed with these ruins and how they are presented.

Arizona had only 4 rivers in the past. The question Rangers try to answer is why & how did native people survive and thrive in this very harsh environment.

Answer = irrigation.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument consists of the ruins of multiple structures surrounded by a compound wall constructed by the ancient people of the Hohokam period, who farmed the Gila Valley in the early 13th century.

“Archeologists have discovered evidence that the ancient Sonoran Desert people who built the Casa Grande also developed wide-scale irrigation farming and extensive trade connections which lasted over a thousand years until about 1450 C.E.” …