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Salt places to visit · Catron County, New Mexico

Zuni Salt Lake

By The Salt AlmanacUpdated November 8, 2026

A shallow volcanic lake in the high desert, sacred to the Zuni and other Pueblo peoples as the home of Salt Mother.

Black-and-white photograph of a shallow lake in a desert crater, with salt flats along the shore
Zuni Salt Lake in an undated U.S. government photograph. Its original caption notes that one to two million pounds of salt were removed each year.U.S. National Archives. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Image source

At a glance

WhereAbout 60 miles south of Zuni Pueblo, Catron County, New Mexico
Type of placeSacred salt lake
What it isA maar, a volcanic crater, holding a lake only about 4 feet (1.2 m) deep. In the dry season it evaporates into salt flats.
Sacred meaningThe lake is the home of the Zuni deity Salt Mother (Ma'l Okyattsik'i), and its salt is described as her flesh.
Who gathers saltFor centuries the Zuni, Acoma, Laguna, Hopi and Taos pueblos have made pilgrimages here to gather salt for cooking and ceremonies.
VisitingThe lake and 5,000 surrounding acres have been under Zuni control since 1985. It is a sacred place, not a tourist attraction: contact the Pueblo of Zuni before planning any visit.

The salt story

Salt from the lake was still traded widely when the Spanish arrived; an officer sent to see it in 1598 called it unequalled in all Christendom. The Apache leader Geronimo recalled that at the salt lake his people “were not allowed to even kill game or attack an enemy.” From 1981, a utility planned a coal strip mine about ten miles away that would have pumped groundwater the lake depends on. After a 20-year campaign led by the Zuni, the mine was cancelled in August 2003.

Hours, seasons and prices change. Check with the site before you travel.

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Cite this page

For school projects and reports. Teachers often prefer the original sources too: see the list below.

The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). Zuni salt lake. https://saltalmanac.com/places/zuni-salt-lake

Original sources

  1. Wikipedia. Zuni Salt Lake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuni_Salt_Lake
  2. Sierra Club. Zuni Salt Lake victory (2003). https://vault.sierraclub.org/planet/200307/zuni.asp