Emory Pass

The pass is named for a crossing that happened somewhere else. Ross Calvin, editor of Emory's 1846 reports, wrote the original wording that the Forest Service board here still carries, then conceded that Kearny's column had crossed several miles to the south. George Ruhlen's 1957 study traced the October 17 crossing, with Kit Carson guiding, to a low saddle at the head of Gavilan Canyon near 6,300 feet, and named it Parks Pass. No road topped this crest until the 1930s. The state panel repeats the old claim.

What the plaque says

Gila National Forest Emory Pass Named in honor of Lt. W. H. Emory, who passed by here with the Army of the West in 1846 His report to the U. S. Government is the earliest scientific account of this region which then belonged to Mexico. U. S. Department of Agriculture Elev. 8228 Official Scenic Historic Marker Emory Pass Black Range Mountains Elevation: 8,228 ft. At the top of the pass are Tertiary volcanic and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks that also form the high cliffs of the Caballo Mountains seen 35 miles to the east. The two ranges were joined until the Rio Grande Rift formed a graben that settled about four miles lower than the pass. McKnight Peak is the Black Range's highest point at 10,165 feet. The pass is named for Army Officer William Hemsley Emory, who crossed it in 1846.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Santa Rita Copper Mine — 19 mi
  The copper pit east of Silver City that swallowed the town it was named for, beneath a spire of volcanic rock long said to look like a nun at prayer.
• City of Rocks State Park — 25 mi
  Pinnacles of volcanic tuff up to forty feet high standing in the grassland between Deming and Silver City, worn out of an eruption 34.9 million years ago.

More markers nearby

• Percha Creek — 9.4 mi
• Sadie Orchard (1860-1943) — 12 mi
• Hillsboro — 12 mi
• Mimbres Valley — 12 mi