Pueblo Grande de Nevada

Pueblo Grande de Nevada is a large archaeological site across Moapa Valley containing hundreds of ancient settlements from ancestral Puebloan peoples. The site includes pithouses, campsites, rockshelters, salt mines, and caves scattered across the landscape.

Basketmaker people established the first settlements around 300 A.D. in this region. The community grew into a complex of adobe structures with many rooms before residents left the area around 1150 A.D.

The people who lived here created their own methods for growing corn, beans, and squash in the desert. They also made cotton cloth and painted pottery that they traded with other communities across the region.

A museum in Overton displays artifacts and findings from this area to help visitors understand the history. Visiting the museum first gives you context before exploring the larger archaeological landscape.

Portions of this archaeological complex now lie beneath the waters of Lake Mead after being flooded during the construction of Hoover Dam. These submerged settlements serve as a reminder of how much the landscape has changed in modern times.