Paraje de Fra Cristobal

Fray Cristóbal de Salazar was Oñate's cousin and one of the friars who came north in 1598; he preached the sermon at the ceremony where Oñate assigned the Franciscans their missions. Oñate's soldiers, studying the north end of the ridge, decided it had his profile and joked that he was feísimo, very ugly. The summit that carries the joke, Fra Cristobal Mountain, stands 5,932 feet. In the nineteenth century the name lost its y and its accent, and Fray Cristóbal became the Fra Cristobal of the panel and the maps.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Paraje de Fra Cristobal The mountain range seen along the east bank of the Rio Grande is named after Father Cristobal de Salazar of the 1598 Juan de Onate expedition. The northern edge of the twenty-one mile range is said to resemble the profile of the good friar. This paraje, or encampment, was a place of rest for caravans on the Camino Real as they entered or exited the Jornada del Muerto.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge — 19 mi
  A Rio Grande refuge south of Socorro where cranes and geese winter by the tens of thousands on wetlands and fields kept by people, because the river no longer floods to make them.

More markers nearby

• Fort Craig Rest Area — steps away
• Espejo's Expedition — steps away
• Paraje De Fra Cristobal — steps away
• Women of the Camino Real — steps away