El Capitan Pass

Long before US-60, this notch through the hills carried older traffic. In 1846 General Kearny's Army of the West crossed here on its march to California, guided by Kit Carson, who knew the way around the Gila River's impassable canyon downstream. A trip journal called it Carson's Old Trail. The gorge Carson steered around is now drowned under Coolidge Dam. The pass kept its use for wagons and then cars, a reminder that most highways are only the newest layer on a very old road.

What the plaque says

This pass was used by Kearny's Army of the West in a march to California in 1846. Guided by Kit Carson it was described in a journal of the trip as "Carson's Old Trail". The pass led around the impassable canyon on the Gila River where Coolidge Dam has been constructed.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Oak Flat — 16 mi
  Chi'chil Bildagoteel — the Apache sacred ground a copper mine is set to swallow

More markers nearby

• George W. P. Hunt in Globe — 9.2 mi
• City of Globe — 9.2 mi
• Cobre Valley Center for the Arts — 9.2 mi
• The Hanging Tree — 9.4 mi