This ancient New Mexico cliff holds 2,000 messages from Puebloans, conquistadors, and pioneers

700 Years of Travelers’ Carvings at El Morro

El Morro isn’t just a rock – it’s America’s oldest guest book. For 700 years, a hidden desert pool at the base of this 200-foot sandstone cliff drew travelers.

First came Ancestral Puebloans around 1275, who built a 355-room pueblo and carved images of sheep and birds into the rock. Then in 1605, Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate added the first European name.

Soon, Spanish soldiers, priests, and later American wagon trains all stopped to drink and carve their marks. By 1906, when Teddy Roosevelt made it a national monument, over 2,000 carvings filled the stone.

The Inscription Loop Trail now takes you face-to-face with this unique timeline etched in stone.

Ancestral Puebloans Built a Thriving Village at the Desert Oasis

From 1275 to 1350, about 600 Ancestral Puebloans lived in Atsinna, a 355-room pueblo on top of the mesa. The village stood along the old Zuni-Acoma Trail, a key trading path linking pueblos across the area.

Folks carved handholds into the cliff to reach the water at the bottom. The pueblo had kivas for ceremonies, and people grew corn, beans, and squash in fields below.

They carved rock art showing animals, people, and sacred symbols into the soft sandstone.

Life at the Mesa Village Came to a Mysterious End

Around 1350-1400, the Ancestral Puebloans left Atsinna for reasons experts still argue about. The waterhole stayed important on the trail between Acoma and Zuni pueblos, about 100 miles apart.

Zuni people call the site A’ts’ina, meaning “Place of writings on the rock. ” Rain and snowmelt flowing down the 200-foot sandstone cliff kept the pool full year-round.

This hidden spot became the only sure water source for folks crossing this dry desert region.

Spanish Explorers First Wrote About the Desert Waterhole

In March 1583, Antonio de Espejo and his group camped at El Estanque de Peñol (The Place at the Great Rock). Writer Diego Pérez de Luxan noted the stop in his journal.

No one has found any carved record from Espejo on the rock. The Spanish called the sandstone cliff El Morro, meaning “The Headland” or “Bluff.”

This became the first European written record of the site, though they left no carving.

Governor Oñate Carved His Name After Finding the Sea

On April 16, 1605, Governor Juan de Oñate carved his name while coming back from a trip to the Gulf of California.

The carving reads “Passed by here, the adelantado Don Juan de Oñate, from the discovery of the Sea of the South.”

This stands as the oldest known European carving at El Morro, made 15 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Oñate or one of his soldiers used tools they carried to make the mark.

Travelers Turned the Rock Into a Spanish Guestbook

For the next 200 years, Spanish governors, soldiers, and priests carved their names at El Morro. Most carvings followed a pattern: “paso por aqui” (passed through here) with the person’s name and date.

In 1629, Father Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto left a long note about bringing wagons to Zuni. Spanish carvings often looked fancy, with flowing script cut deep into the soft sandstone.

El Morro became a regular stop on the way to Zuni and other western pueblos.

Vargas Boasted About His Military Victory on Stone

In November 1692, Diego de Vargas stopped at El Morro during his push to take back New Mexico after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

His carving claimed he won “for our Holy Faith, and for the Royal Crown, all of New Mexico at his own expense. ” Vargas first took Santa Fe without fighting in September 1692, though battles broke out later.

Vargas likely carved his name during a second visit on his way back from Zuni that November.

Army Lieutenant Simpson Put El Morro on American Maps

In September 1849, Lieutenant James Simpson and artist Richard Kern became the first Americans to study El Morro. The pair spent two days copying more than 40 carvings and creating the first full record.

Simpson called the site “Inscription Rock” and shared detailed descriptions and Kern’s drawings in 1852. Their work gave Americans their first look at the newly gained New Mexico land.

Simpson and Kern carved their own names, noting they “visited and copied these inscriptions, September 17-18, 1849.”

Gold Seekers and Settlers Stopped for Water on Their Journey West

By 1850, El Morro turned into one of the main water stops for American wagon trains heading to California. In 1857, Edward Beale’s group passed through with camels, testing if they worked well for desert travel.

Thirteen-year-old Sallie Fox carved her name in July 1858 while traveling with the Rose wagon train from Iowa to California. The Rose Party was among the first to try Beale’s new southern route to California.

Many travelers added their names in simple style, often just a name and date.

Travelers Faced Deadly Attacks on the Trail West

On August 30, 1858, Mojave warriors attacked the Rose Party near the Colorado River. Eight travelers died and many others got hurt, including young Sallie Fox who took an arrow in the arm.

The survivors walked back to Albuquerque to wait out winter before trying again. In 1859, Sallie made it to California, where she became a teacher and later got married.

Railroad surveyors and Union Pacific workers kept leaving carvings through the 1860s and 1870s.

Trains Made the Old Desert Trail Obsolete

In 1881, the first train crossed the Continental Divide at Campbell’s Pass, about 25 miles north of El Morro. The old trail past El Morro became useless for long trips as trains offered faster routes.

By the early 1900s, fewer people visited the site but locals knew its historical value. Communities around Inscription Rock started pushing for protection of the carvings.

The last Spanish carving dated from 1774, and American carvings mostly stopped around 1900.

Teddy Roosevelt Protected the Rock Writings for Future Generations

President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act on June 8, 1906, giving presidents power to protect historic sites.

On December 8, 1906, Roosevelt designated El Morro as a national monument, the second monument created under the new law.

The designation prohibited any future carving on the cliffs, ending nearly 300 years of inscription-making. Federal protection preserved more than 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs for future generations.

The National Park Service took over management in 1916 and built visitor facilities at this remote desert site.

Visiting El Morro National Monument, New Mexico

El Morro National Monument at HC 61 Box 43 in Ramah offers free entry to see nearly 1,000 years of inscriptions from Ancestral Puebloans, Spanish explorers, and American pioneers. Visit Thursday-Monday 9am-5pm in winter or daily in summer.

Arrive before 4pm for the Inscription Loop Trail or before 3pm for Headland Trail, which climbs 224 feet to Atsinna Pueblo ruins. Your leashed pets can join you on trails but not in the visitor center.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• America’s bizarre military camel experiment led by a retired Navy lieutenant
• How a single Comanche raid in 1775 doomed this ancient pueblo to extinction
• These ancient cliff dwellings once housed atomic bomb scientists in New Mexico