Sierra Ancha Wilderness in central Arizona protects a relatively small but exceptionally rugged landscape on the Tonto National Forest east of Phoenix, where pine-covered mountains and mesa tops give way to box canyons, sheer cliffs, and the deep valley cut by Cherry Creek. Its steep, inaccessible alcoves preserve notable prehistoric structures, including Devil's Canyon ruin and the Pueblo Canyon group. Archaeological evidence places the region at a crossroads of Mogollon, Hohokam, and Sinagua traditions before the Salado culture emerged nearby, while the Anchan ruins were built and occupied roughly between 1280 and 1350. First reserved in 1933, it became formal wilderness in 1964.