El Morro National Monument
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
Location	Cibola County, New Mexico, USA
Nearest city	Ramah, NMNearest city: Ramah, NM
Coordinates	35°2′18″N 108°21′12″W / 35.03833°N 108.35333°W / 35.03833; -108.35333Coordinates: 35°2′18″N 108°21′12″W / 35.03833°N 108.35333°W / 35.03833; -108.35333
Area	1,278.72 acres (517.48 ha) 1,039.92 acres (420.84 ha) federal
Established	December 8, 1906 Established: December 8, 1906
Visitors	65,233 (in 2004)
Governing body	National Park Service

El Morro National Monument is located on an ancient east-west trail in western New Mexico. The main feature of this National Monument is a great sandstone promontory with a pool of water at its base. As a shaded oasis in the western U.S. desert, this site has seen many centuries of travelers. The Spaniard explorers called it El Morro (The Headland). The Zuni Indians call it "A'ts'ina" (Place of writings on the rock). Anglo-Americans called it Inscription Rock. Travelers left signatures, names, dates, and stories of their treks. While some of the inscriptions are fading, there are still many that can be seen today, some dating to the 17th century. Some petroglyphs and carvings were made by the Anasazi centuries before Europeans started making their mark. In 1906, U.S. federal law prohibited further carving.

El Morro Photo Gallery

Inscription by Juan de Oñate in 1605. This is the oldest historical inscription at El Morro.

Native American petroglyph

Sandstone bluff at El Morro

[edit] References

• United States Government Printing Office (1995). El Morro National Monument. GPO 387-038/00173

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: El Morro National Monument

• Official National Park Service site
• American Southwest, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

v • d • e U.S. National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register · History of the National Register of Historic Places · Property types · Historic district · Contributing property List of entries National Park Service · National Historic Landmarks · National Battlefields · National Historic Sites · National Historical Parks · National Memorials · National Monuments

This New Mexico state location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This article related to a protected area in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e