Cíbola, Seven Cities

Cíbola, Seven Cities of

Legendary cities of splendour and riches sought by Spanish conquistadores in North America during the 16th century. The cities were first reported by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, who was shipwrecked off Florida in 1528 and who wandered through what later became Texas and northern Mexico before his rescue in 1536. Expeditions sent to search for the cities were unsuccessful; one led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado in 1540 located a group of Zuni pueblos but failed to find vast treasures.