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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature; Sites by State >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> New Mexico >> El Morro National Monument – New Mexico tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

El Morro National Monument – New Mexico

Images of El Morro National Monument – New Mexico, taken in March 2016.

El Morro National Monument is a relatively small park with one interesting geological feature, a large sandstone mesa called a cuesta, a long formation that gently slopes upward. The reason this plateau has not worn away like the surrounding area is it’s a hard rock top.

I had heard there were pueblo ruins there so I decided to make this a side trip. Even though the trail was over two miles long, it had been a long day so I decide to only go the half mile to the ruins. It’s what I saw when I got there that drove me to finish the entire trek. Laid out before me was this beautiful box canyon complete with a sandstone monolith at its core. It was an incredible site and no wonder that the Ancestral Puebloan Peoples had settled here. The trail went all the way around this little canyon and down the other side where it passed Inscription Rock, a sandstone face where travelers to this area had scratched their names into the surface for several hundred years.

The partly cloudy skies, and scattered snowfalls, made for some interesting views to make this park a truly pleasant surprise.
Snow falls over the El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
Snow falls over the El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument 		El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument		 Detail of El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
Detail of El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument		 El Morro Mesa as seen from New Mexico 53 in El Morro National Monument
El Morro Mesa as seen from New Mexico 53 in El Morro National Monument		 The El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
The El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
The top of El Morro Mesa with a snowstorm in the distance in El Morro National Monument
The top of El Morro Mesa with a snowstorm in the distance in El Morro National Monument		 Monoliths in the box canyon in El Morro National Monument
Monoliths in the box canyon in El Morro National Monument		 El Morro NM - New Mexico (2016)
El Morro NM - New Mexico (2016)		 View of the box canyon in El Morro National Monument
View of the box canyon in El Morro National Monument		 Monoliths in the box canyon in El Morro National Monument
Monoliths in the box canyon in El Morro National Monument
The box canyon in El Morro National Monument
The box canyon in El Morro National Monument		 The box canyon from the top of the mesa in El Morro National Monument
The box canyon from the top of the mesa in El Morro National Monument		 Trees growing out of the rock on top of the mesa in El Morro National Monument
Trees growing out of the rock on top of the mesa in El Morro National Monument		 The box canyon in El Morro National Monument
The box canyon in El Morro National Monument		 The top of El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monumentg
The top of El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monumentg
The Ancestral Puebloan Pueblo on top of El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
The Ancestral Puebloan Pueblo on top of El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument		 View of the pueblo with a snowstorm in the distance in El Morro National Monument
View of the pueblo with a snowstorm in the distance in El Morro National Monument		 The walls of the Ancestral Puebloan Pueblo in El Morro National Monument
The walls of the Ancestral Puebloan Pueblo in El Morro National Monument		 A kiva on top of the El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
A kiva on top of the El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument		 The Ancestral Puebloan Pueblo in El Morro National Monument
The Ancestral Puebloan Pueblo in El Morro National Monument
View of a snowstorm from on top of the El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
View of a snowstorm from on top of the El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument		 View from the top of the El Morro Mesa with a snowstorm in the distance in El Morro National Monument
View from the top of the El Morro Mesa with a snowstorm in the distance in El Morro National Monument		 Snow falls in the distance in El Morro National Monument
Snow falls in the distance in El Morro National Monument		 View of falling snow and New Mexico Highway 53 from the top of the mesa in El Morro National Monument
View of falling snow and New Mexico Highway 53 from the top of the mesa in El Morro National Monument		 The cliffs from the lead edge of the mesa in El Morro National Monument
The cliffs from the lead edge of the mesa in El Morro National Monument
The narrow canyon leading into the box canyon in El Morro National Monument
The narrow canyon leading into the box canyon in El Morro National Monument		 View of the El Morro Mesa from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
View of the El Morro Mesa from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument		 View of the cliffs from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
View of the cliffs from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument		 A window from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
A window from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument		 Rock formations along the El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
Rock formations along the El Morro Mesa in El Morro National Monument
The top of the El Morro Mesa from the Mesa Top Trail in El Morro National Monument
The top of the El Morro Mesa from the Mesa Top Trail in El Morro National Monument		 Along the Mesa Top Trail in El Morro National Monument
Along the Mesa Top Trail in El Morro National Monument		 Sotol plants and prickly pear cactus in El Morro National Monument
Sotol plants and prickly pear cactus in El Morro National Monument		 The El Morro Mesa from the visitor Center in El Morro National Monument
The El Morro Mesa from the visitor Center in El Morro National Monument		 The El Morro Mesa from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
The El Morro Mesa from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
Snow along the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
Snow along the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument		 Carving from 1866 on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument
Carving from 1866 on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument		 Petroglyphs on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument
Petroglyphs on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument		 Script on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument
Script on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument		 The mesa walls from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
The mesa walls from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
Carving from 1737 on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument
Carving from 1737 on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument		 Petroglyphs on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument
Petroglyphs on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument		 Railroad-survey expedition inscriptions on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument
Railroad-survey expedition inscriptions on Inscription Rock in El Morro National Monument		 Runoff pool at the base of the mesa along Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
Runoff pool at the base of the mesa along Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument		 El Morro Mesa from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument
El Morro Mesa from the Inscription Rock Trail in El Morro National Monument

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Holly 04-Apr-2016 20:03
Nice photos! We spent almost 3 weeks in the southwest in late February and first half of March - Hot Springs, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains, Big Bend, Saguaro and Petrified Forest. Also saw Shenandoah National Park in conjunction with cherry blossoms in Washington DC. Happy travels.
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