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This report is a statement concerning the assessed impact of the proposed Orme Reservoir on the archaeological resources. The Orme Reservoir is one phase of the Bureau of Reclamation's Central Arizona Project plan to impound and distribute water from the Colorado River to central and southern Arizona. To be located at the confluence of the Salt and Verde rivers, the Orme Reservoir will flood approximately 24,000 acres of bottomland along both rivers. Previous archaeological data from the area indicated that the proposed dam and reservoir would affect archaeological and historical remains. The Western Regional Office of the National Park Service, therefore, contracted with the Arizona State Museum to do an intensive evaluative survey of the archaeological resources in the area for the Bureau of Reclamation. This study consisted of four phases. Phase I involved a survey of the Salt arm of the Orme Reservoir. Phase II was a survey of the Verde arm. The data from an ancillary survey of a small region below the proposed dam slated for use in aqueduct construction, the Orme Reservoir extension, composed Phase Ia. At the end of each phase, a preliminary report describing the archaeological resources located was prepared. Phase III resulted in the completion of this report, a detailed study and evaluation of the potentially affected archaeological resource base. The report discusses the cultural inventory in terms of an ecological framework emphasizing differential adaptation as reflected in various types of sites. Archaeological data are organized with the community as the unit of analysis, although inter-site as well as intra-site relationships are made explicit. The logistics of field work and analysis are included, as well as a brief summary of environmental considerations, and an assessment of the archaeological significance of the region. The study of significance includes a comprehensive analysis of inter-regional and intra-regional archaeological data, a summary of unavoidable adverse effects of the dam on the archaeology, a description of alternatives to the proposed reservoir, recommended action with regard to the archaeologically deleterious results of reservoir construction, and an evaluation of total resource study versus mitigation costs in terms of recovering the archaeological information.