El Morro National Monument
The second U.S. National Monument, declared by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906. El Morro encompasses a large sandstone promontory with historical inscriptions, the ruins of a Native American Pueblo, and petroglyphs.
With a shaded oasis at the base of a large cliff, the sandstone promontory was a welcomed sight along the ancient east-west trail through New Mexico. El Morro was essentially New Mexico’s first rest stop. Many people carved inscriptions into the rock face, like signing the guest book at a wedding. The oldest etching dates back to 1605, by the first Spanish governor of the Santa Fe de Nueva México colony. The ruins of an enormous pueblo, with more than 800 rooms that housed an estimated 1500 people, sit atop the monument, mostly unexcavated. To see the inscriptions, an easy paved path leads around the base of the promontory, past the oasis. Pick up a guidebook at the visitors center for translations (many are in Spanish, or are difficult to read) and historical information about each engraving. The short but steep path up the cliff offers views of the El Malpais countryside and a nice hike along a path carved from the sandstone leading to the ruins on top of the cliff.
