Maria Patrick, age 15, of Henderson, Nev. for her question:

WHERE WERE THE SEVEN CITIES OF CIBOLA?

Seven fabulous cities of Cibola existed only in legend.

When Spanish conquerors came to Mexico, they believed in a sort of fairy tale concerning seven wonderful cities in what is now the Southwest United States. These cities were said to have great riches.

One expedition set forth for the cities, guided by a black Moorish slave named Estevanico, also called Esteban. The Moor, with Cabeza de Vaca and two others, had survived a shipwreck on the Texas coast and had wandered for several years before being rescued.

Estevanico led the conquerors to the seven Zuni Indian villages in the area where Gallup, New Mexico now stands.

In 1540, the explorer Francisco Coronado started with his army for the fabulous cities. He, too, found only the simple Zunis settlements. The only jewels the Zunis had were turquoises, not the emeralds Coronad had hoped to find.