According to the Hopi tribe, the San Luis Lakes were the location of the “sipapu,” a Hopi word in this case referring to the place of refuge during the apocalypse. In Hopi pueblos, a kiva is a room used by the tribe for religious rituals. They are walled, subterranean rooms that also serve as a representation of their cosmos. In the floor of each kiva is a small but deep hole called the “sipapu”. The San Luis valley resembles a kiva in many ways, and the San Luis Lakes act as the sipapu of the valley.
