El Morro National Monument

El Morro features a 200-foot sandstone promontory with a natural pool at its base, forming an essential water source in the New Mexico desert.

Between 1275 and 1350, over 600 Ancestral Puebloan people constructed a settlement containing 355 rooms atop the mesa along the Zuni-Acoma trade route.

The sandstone walls contain more than 2,000 petroglyphs and inscriptions from Native Americans, Spanish explorers, and American settlers through different time periods.

The monument includes hiking trails, nine first-come-first-served camping sites, and a visitor center offering educational materials about the area's geology and history.

Juan de Oñate, the first Spanish governor of New Mexico, carved the oldest European inscription on the rock walls during his passage in 1605.

Location: Cibola County

Inception: December 8, 1906

Operator: United States National Park Service

Website: https://nps.gov/elmo

GPS coordinates: 35.03830,-108.35300

Latest update: May 27, 2025 11:30