El Morro National Monument

El Morro National Monument: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

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El Morro National Monument

Rock formation and archaeological site, west-central New Mexico, U.S. Established in 1906, it has an area of 2 sq mi (5 sq km). El Morro, or Inscription Rock, is a soft sandstone mesa rising 200 ft (60 m) above the valley floor and covering several acres. Spaniards and Americans left their inscriptions (1605–1906) on the cliff sides of the mesa. El Morro also has a number of pre-Columbian petroglyphs, and on its top lie ruins of Indian pueblos.

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El Morro National Monument

Parks Directory of the United States / US National Parks / National Monuments

Address: HC 61 Box 43
Ramah, NM 87321
Phone: 505-783-4226;
Fax: 505-783-4689;
Web: www.nps.gov/elmo/
Size: 1,279 acres.
Established: Proclaimed on December 8, 1906.
Location: 125 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. From I-40 at Gallup (56 miles), go south on NM 602, then east on NM 53 through Ramah. From I-40 at Grants (42 miles), go southwest on NM 53.
Facilities: Campground (é), picnic area, rest rooms (é), visitor center (é), museum/exhibit, self-guided tour/trail. Entrance fee required.
Activities: Camping, hiking.
Special Features: Ancestral Puebloans settled on the mesa top over 700 years ago. Spanish and American travelers rested, drank from the pool and carved their signatures, dates and messages for hundreds of years. Today, the national monument protects more than 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs, as well as Ancestral Puebloan ruins.

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See other parks in New Mexico.