El Morro
United States
About El Morro
El Morro National Monument preserves a massive sandstone bluff that served as a landmark and registry for travelers over many centuries. The monument is famous for its inscriptions, including signatures and messages carved by Spanish explorers, American pioneers, and railroad surveyors dating back to 1605. Managed by the National Park Service, the site also protects ancestral Puebloan ruins atop the mesa and a reliable water source that made it a crucial stopping point along ancient trade routes. The monument offers hiking trails to both the inscriptions and the pueblo ruins.