El Morro | Inscription Rock
Take a stroll through the past at El Morro National Monument, an oasis at the base of a mesa that has attracted travelers for over a millennia.
![Reeds and cliff walls surround the pool at El Morro](https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-pool.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=7d732d4db577898e08fd157d019e7ee8 320w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-pool.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=74bfef4f2a4a58b4bb9a81bfd49cd277 540w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-pool.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=c720eb73ee8b41a1a529382b9c8ccd12 768w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-pool.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=47e6bcd0d22fac30a2b0e2fb7a97e590 1024w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-pool.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=712628709a8941841cc87cf4b79e05d0 1200w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-pool.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=5bcd5db628840f6cd72aafda235385d3 1440w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-pool.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=21624d741d5284dd4990bf2d514ee1c3 1920w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-pool.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=a2348137aac00f4ad51a131749400c9e 2400w)
Water is a precious resource in this region, one that has always impeded widespread settlement and population growth. On the New Mexico/Arizona border, the lack of water has been fatal for many travelers passing through miles of hot, arid terrain.
El Morro, about an hour southeast of Gallup, is an oasis on the western plains. Rain and snowmelt cascade off the mesa, forming a small pool at the base of the 200-foot cliffs. The pool is on the east side of the mesa, which provides shade during the hottest part of the afternoon. The surrounding terrain is a combination of volcanic landscapes and high desert plains. With the lava fields of El Malpais National Monument and Bandera crater to the east and expansive grassy plains stretching to the western horizon, the watering hole has been the best place to stop between Acoma and Zuni for a very long time. Hot as blazes in the summer.
Based on artifacts found by archaeologists and the inscriptions left by waves of on the cliffs around the pool, this site has been a reliable source of water for over a thousand years. The inscriptions by American cavalry and Spanish conquistadors are next to petroglyphs left by the region’s original inhabitants. In total, there are more than 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs.
![Inscriptions of peoples names at El Morro](https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-inscriptions.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=7b76a858ff29c52932c16acc42f9c257 320w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-inscriptions.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=8aa156b58fed9a2f82b66ebb1b7cdc63 540w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-inscriptions.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=ab6bd7df0d704706bbacb8dfc4b47321 768w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-inscriptions.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=d6ed87e62984c28015a73ad941457842 1024w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-inscriptions.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=5bca66672690cdef0e0f6830d8696531 1200w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-inscriptions.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=e1648adf9dfcae52366ddcdc9b9d2c1e 1440w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-inscriptions.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=5c36b719c95c37d40b44081d54db9ce0 1920w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-inscriptions.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=0f7f6745d9f39dc2ef6792863434be66 2400w)
Guest Log Stamped in Stone
Based on artifacts found by archaeologists and the inscriptions left by waves of on the cliffs around the pool, this site has been a reliable source of water for over a thousand years. The inscriptions by American cavalry and Spanish conquistadors are next to petroglyphs left by the region’s original inhabitants. In total, there are more than 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs, like a stone guest log on the eastern edge of the Colorado Plateau.
Don Juan de Oñate was the first Spaniard to sign in at El Morro. He visited El Morro in April, 1605 while traveling home to San Gabriel from an expedition to the Pacific, carving his name in the rock 15 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The inscription reads:
Inscription: "Pasó por aqui, el adelantado Don Juan de Oñate del descubrimiento de la mar del sur a 16 de Abril de 1605."
Translated: "Passed by here, the adelantado Don Juan de Oñate from the discovery of the sea of the south the 16th of April of 1605."
Over the next several centuries many travelers recorded their passing. Some left no more than a name and date. Others left short narratives, like Franciscan priest, Father Nieto, who inscribed (translated from Spanish):
"Here was the Señor and Governor Don Manuel de Silva Nieto, whose indubitable arm and valor have now overcome the impossible with the wagons of the King Our Lord, a thing which he alone put into effect, August 5, 1629, that one may well to Zuni pass and carry the faith."
Father Nieto believed the Zuni people had been conquered and pacified by 1629, an opinion that would be corrected a few years later when a Spanish soldier dispatched to Zuni left this inscription on behalf of his unit: "They passed on March 23, 1632, to avenge the death of Father Letrado — Lujan."
After the Mexican-American War in 1846, Lt. James H. Simpson, a topographical engineer for the US Army, began surveying the Zuni and Navajo territory. In September 1849, he found the inscriptions at El Morro. He began copying the symbols, signatures, and dates on the promontory, dubbing the mesa “Inscription Rock.” They added their signatures, providing 2 of the 20 Anglo-American names at El Morro. By the following year, El Morro became one of the main watering holes for the flood of American wagon trains heading to California. The 1278 acres of El Morro National Monument was set aside in 1906. The National Park Service prohibited additional carvings on the mesa.
![A'ts'ina Pueblo at El Morro](https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-60.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=a91897855561d522839916e9c83208a8 320w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-60.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=6cbbbf72d675e5f78ebe771bfa7df171 540w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-60.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=268cc40c74b212430964acdbec29cedf 768w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-60.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=ea64be1991faa95bf7e6dab00dac93e6 1024w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-60.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=0db8abf01bfa4f0217d7d2c519cf85e0 1200w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-60.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=cfaa78066872870033ce2e7a27eaf3c3 1440w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-60.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=92db8359e2439c1be92038344f999204 1920w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-60.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=09e379ff3b2313ff6d276156d69dbbb3 2400w)
A'ts'ina Pueblo
Archaeologists believe the Zuni constructed A'ts'ina between 1275-1350. The village was occupied for a few decades. Archaeologists don’t know why they built in such an inaccessible location or why they abandoned the village so quickly. Given that it occurred during a period of migration throughout the region, there may have been a need for a defensible position due to drought induced famine.
The pueblo had approximately 850 rooms. It was home to 1000-1500 people. Multiple stories of interconnected rooms surrounded an open courtyard, like a stone apartment complex. Square and circular kivas provided space for informal gatherings as well as religious ceremonies. Villagers grew corn and other crops in irrigated fields on the plains below. Fully excavated, the pueblo would be larger than the pueblo ruins in Chaco Canyon.
The inhabitants of A'ts'ina left hundreds of petroglyphs, clear evidence that the ancient Puebloans established the precedent of recording their presence on the cliffs long before the conquistadors arrived.
![El Morro trail sign](https://gallup.imgix.net/images/Dec-2016-el-morro-trail-sign.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=6cebbc802933bf908821208e8de41239 320w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/Dec-2016-el-morro-trail-sign.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=6506e26e87380c9e3bbfc7665b595065 540w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/Dec-2016-el-morro-trail-sign.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=beafc85b31ff8106d916089ba78f8399 768w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/Dec-2016-el-morro-trail-sign.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=905fdb9aa1741b2fe09b182f22b4d697 1024w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/Dec-2016-el-morro-trail-sign.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=8ada5b3b2cb18dc677ee5e5fbc2ca157 1200w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/Dec-2016-el-morro-trail-sign.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=0ff172b036087462e972fdb7d4c28603 1440w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/Dec-2016-el-morro-trail-sign.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=4625865fc0661c36ebb4bc6a5fe52e48 1800w)
Hiking Trails
There are two self-guided hiking trails available. The short trail leads visitors to the pool. This ½ mile loop is handicap accessible, passing many of the notable inscriptions and petroglyphs. It intersects the second loop trail loop twice at the base of the mesa.
The second trail is approximately 2 miles, ascending to the top of the mesa and across, passing the partially excavated ruins of a Zuni village, A'ts'ina, on the way. The second trail is a bit more strenuous due to the 250-foot ascent, but the view from the top is fantastic…mesas, forest, volcanoes, and plains stretching to the horizon. Allow an hour for the low road, 1.5 hours for the high road. Wear good walking shoes and take sunscreen, plenty of water, and a snack, particularly in the hot summer months when you dehydrate like a raisin without realizing it. For visitors from lower elevations, heat stroke and altitude sickness are a bad combination. Also, they close the Mesa Top Trail during inclement weather. You don’t want to be on top of the mesa when it is icy or when there is lightning.
![Cliffs tower over trees at El Morro](https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=861e9c12ff4e74613a55f00134183c62 320w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=fcc8703ab294195b1b786669d662d9d9 540w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=ca610be6b5019cf32095dc7768367178 768w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=cbd87ba5a62c762d066c3b268b189e8b 1024w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=5fffb0258c12875e5c97f8a8a89865c4 1200w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=97917b46aa10c1b37f9c9f8ef090b5cf 1440w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=f15d4152c34d6ad709cc4cf249e89f3d 1920w, https://gallup.imgix.net/images/May-2021-El-Morro-Full-Hike-6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=ab497b72fd188ce22391197b0374f8bd 2400w)
El Morro is one of New Mexico’s smallest national monuments. Encompassing 2 square miles, the monument was established in 1906 to preserve the inscriptions and petroglyphs on the cliffs and the partially excavated Zuni village on top of the mesa.
El Morro National Monument
HC 61 Box 43
Ramah, NM 87321
(505) 783-4226
Hours
Visitor Center 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Trails-9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's Day.
Directions
El Morro National Monument is located 56 miles southeast of Gallup, NM via Highways 602 and 53.
Camping
El Morro National Monument operates a year-round campground with 9 sites. Campsites are free. The don't accept reservations. Sites are available by self-registration on a first-come, first-served basis. The campground occasionally fills-up on weekends from May through September. There are no hookups for RVs. The limit on motor homes is 27 feet overall. Each site has a gravel tent pad, picnic table and ground grill for fires. Fires are permitted in provided grills only. Please comply with seasonal fire restrictions. Water is available during spring and summer months. Once the night time temperatures dip below freezing, park rangers turn off the water for the season. One site, #5, is handicap accessible.