Three counties, Santa Fe, Taos, and Rio Arriba are included in the designated National Heritage Area.[2] The Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area was authorized in 2006 by Public Law 109-338.[2][3]
Sites
Pueblos
Eight pueblos are included in the National Heritage Area:[4]
The Jicarilla Apache reservation is also within the heritage area.[4]
Spanish colonial sites
The heritage area also commemorates the influence of Hispanic colonists from the Viceroyalty of New Spain (colonial México), who arrived in the late 1590s and onwards.[5]
Spanish colonial sites in the National Heritage Area include: