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El Morro National Monument, New Mexico

Inscription Rock is the major feature of El Morro National Monument.  Rising 200 feet above the surrounding countryside with a year-round pool of water at its base, the rock has been a major landmark and stopping point for travelers over the centuries.  Ancient petroglyphs attest to visits by Native Americans.  The first literate person to inscribe his name was Don Juan de Oñate, the first Spanish governor of New Mexico.

The trail climbs to the top of the mesa where it skirts a hidden box canyon before reaching some pueblo ruins.