Paul & Tara Visit the National Parks: El Morro National Monument

Visited: April 2024

Nearby towns: Grants, NM; Gallup, NM

"When by great effort I arrived at the foot of some lofty cliffs at which I sat down, and then saw that there was a quiet tank of cold water, above whose crystalline waters, almost blind, I was with difficulty conquering the great madness of the insatiable thirst which overwhelmed me, when trembling, all exhausted, the wet liquor injected strength."

Capt. Gaspar Perez de Villagra, from the account of his travels in 1598

A prominent sandstone bluff, El Morro, rises high above the lonely landscape of western New Mexico. At an elevation of 7,296-ft, this landmark lies along a vital trade route used by the Ancestral Puebloans for thousands of years. The trail connected two important population centers, the Acoma Pueblo and the Zuni Pueblo, a distance of approximately 150 miles.

El Morro was a crucial water source along the Zuni-Acoma trail. At the base of the cliff lies a pool fed by rain and melting snow. This natural pool, almost permanently in the shade of the hulking mass of El Morro, is always cold. When full, the water hole is approximately 12-ft deep and can accommodate over 200,000 gallons of water. It was the only water source for a 30-mile radius.

The Zuni peoples used this bluff, which they dubbed A'ts'ina ("Place of writings on the rock"), as a resting spot along the trail to recuperate and rejuvenate in the clear, clean water. They also carved many petroglyphs on the cliff walls.

The Spanish Conquistadors named the promontory El Morro ("The Headland"). The first European to document the landmark was Gaspar Perez de Villagra, an officer and captain in Onate's expedition to colonize these lands for the Spanish crown. The colony, Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico, covered portions of present-day New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. In 1598, de Villagra was scouting the area when he was separated from his horse and became hopelessly lost. After wandering for hours without provisions, he stumbled upon the oasis at the base of the cliffs. The cool waters saved his life.

The natural pool

Anglo-Americans, who named the landmark "Inscription Rock," first passed through the area in 1849, on their way to California during the gold rush. Many gold-seekers and wagon trains made their presence known by carving their names on the cliff walls, as the Spanish had done centuries earlier.

El Morro was designated as a National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. From the visitors center, you can hike up to the top of El Morro. At the top you will find the remains of a 355-room Pueblo, inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloans from approximately 1275 - 1350 AD. It was a pleasant hike on an absolutely gorgeous day.

A beautiful blue sky as we climbed El Morro

the Pueblo ruins

excavations continue at the site

These circular rooms, known as kivas, served a significant religious and social function in Ancestral Puebloan life.

Pueblo walls

After scrambling on the top of El Morro and taking in the scenic views, we headed back down and walked along the base of the cliffs to see the oasis and the rock carvings/petroglyphs.

there are thousands of inscriptions along the cliff walls

This is the oldest legible inscription on El Morro. Written over 400 years ago by Juan de Onate, the leader of the Spanish Empire's expedition to Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico and the first governor of the colony. It reads: Paso por aqqúi at adelantado Don Juan de Oñnate del descubrimiento de la mar del sur a 16 de Abril de 1605. ("Passed by here the Governor Don Juan de Onate, from the discovery of the Sea of the South [Gulf of California] on the 16th of April, 1605.")

As you can see, Onate partially wrote over an existing petroglyph carved by Ancestral Puebloans.

another shot of Onate's inscription.

many of the carvings in this photo were from the 1800s

"paso por aqui" (Spanish for "passed by here") is a commonly used phrase found in many of the inscriptions.

Mr. E. Pen Long of Baltimore, intricately carved his name in cursive, in 1857. Long traveled through this area as a member of the U.S. Army's "Camel Corps" a short-lived experiment of the use of camels from Egypt as pack animals in the deserts of the American Southwest.