Acomilla

The black mesa east of San Acacia carries more than a name. In 1855 the surveyor John W. Garretson fixed the Initial Point of the New Mexico Principal Meridian and Base Line on it, the point every public land survey in the state is measured from. At the narrows below, where the Rio Grande squeezes between the buttes, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District built the San Acacia Diversion Dam in 1934 to feed the Socorro valley's canals. Beside the panel, an American Society of Civil Engineers plaque honors the Camino Real as a civil engineering landmark.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Acomilla The Camino Real wound its way below the black basaltic buttes of San Acacia, seen to the southeast. Named Acomilla, or Acomita (little Acoma) by the Spanish, these buttes form the walls of a narrow passage for the Rio Grande, along which hostile Apache frequently waited in ambush. Travelers had to organize into well-armed caravans to assure their safety along this section of the Camino Real.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Rio Salado Sand Dunes — steps away
• Rio Salado Sand Dunes — steps away
• Doña Eufemia — steps away
• La Joya de Sevilleta — 3.9 mi