White] THE PUEBLO OF SIA, NEW MEXICO 31 
north of Sia; the Sandias (maximum elevation about 11,000 feet) are 
about 20 miles to the southeast. 
Pine, spruce, and fir in the mountains, junipers and pifion in the 
foothills and on the mesas, and cottonwood in the Rio Grande valley 
are the principal trees of the region. Grasses, yuccas, cactus, salt- 
bush (Atriplex canescens), rabbit brush (Chrysothamnus sp.), bush 
morning-glory (Ipomoea leptophylla), and snakeweed (Gutierrezia sp.) 
are characteristic plants of the region (White, 1945). Deer, antelope, 
puma, wildcat, bear, badger, coyote, fox, rabbit, and squirrel are 
prominent among the mammalian fauna. The bison merely touched 
the Pueblo country in the northeastern part of the State; antelope 
have been rendered virtually extinct in the region by hunters 
(V. Bailey, 1931; White, 1947 b). Hawk, eagle, sparrow hawk, owl, 
hummingbird, road runner, dove, meadow lark, magpie, quail, some 
turkey in the mountains, and ducks in season are the principal birds 
(F. M. Bailey, 1928). Bull snake, king snake, rattlesnake, whip 
snake, racers, hog-nose snake, and various kinds of lizards, turtles 
and toads are found. Vernon Bailey’s “Life Zones and Crop Zones 
of New Mexico” (1913) presents an excellent description of the hab- 
itat of the pueblos of New Mexico, including data on climate, topog- 
raphy (illustrated with maps of life zones), flora, and fauna. 
There are few minerals of consequence in the Pueblo country in 
general or in the vicinity of Sia in particular. Sia has excellent clay 
for pottery and a fine mineral pigment for its decoration. Malachite, 
a native green basic carbonate of copper, is available for making the 
blue-green paint for masks and other ceremonial paraphernalia. Mica 
or selenite or both are found; the former is used as a paint, the latter 
was formerly used for windows (see p. 28). A natural mixture of 
magnetite and hematite is found ‘in hunks in the mountains.”’ It is 
called stcamun and is used as a paint (see White, 1948, pp. 368-372, 
for data on use of minerals by Keresan pueblos). Uranium has been 
found in considerable quantity on the Laguna Reservation, but by 
1957 none had been located on the lands of the Sia although little if 
any competent prospecting had been done by that time. 
CLIMATE 
The Jemez River is low during most of the year; sometimes it is 
almost dry. I have crossed it many times in an automobile. The 
arroyos are bone-dry most of the time, but after thundershowers in 
the summer they may become turbulent streams for a short time. 
The following climatological data are based on readings at the U.S. 
Weather Bureau station near Bernalillo, the nearest one to Sia. Ber- 
nalillo is lower in altitude than Sia and may be a little warmer and 
drier. Mean annual precipitation is about 9 inches. July, August, 
