Jornada del Muerto

The basin behind the panel is about 20 miles wide and 160 miles long, held between the Oscura and San Andres Mountains on the east and the Fra Cristóbal and Caballo ranges on the west. The trail crossed about 90 miles of it. Laguna del Muerto, near the route, is usually dry, and the Jornada del Muerto volcano and its lava field lie farther north. Archaeologists have found Clovis points here, and the basin remains almost entirely uninhabited and undeveloped today.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Jornada del Muerto High plains of the Jornada del Muerto, elevation 4,340 feet, lie 400 feet above the Rio Grande Valley. It is a transitional area from the Basin and Range region to the west into tilted mountain ranges, such as the San Andres Mountains to the east, flanked by broad alluvial and wind-blown basins.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Mesilla Plaza — 25 mi
  A plaza laid out in 1848 by people who meant to stay in Mexico, American six years later, a stage stop and Civil War headquarters, and scene of a deadly political riot in 1871.

More markers nearby

• Fort Selden State Monument — 4.6 mi
• Paraje San Diego — 4.6 mi
• Jornada del Muerto — 4.7 mi
• Rincón — 7.6 mi