El Morro Valley is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Cibola County Cibola County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,213. Its county seat is Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest county, and the third youngest county in the United States, created on June 19, ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, United States. It includes

El Morro National Monument El Morro National Monument is a U.S. national monument in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. Located on an ancient east–west trail in the western part of the state, the monument preserves the remains of a large prehistoric pueblo atop a ...

and the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of El Morro. The area was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. The CDP is in northwestern Cibola County along

New Mexico State Road 53 State Road 53 (NM 53) is a state highway in the US state of New Mexico. Its total length is approximately . NM 53's western terminus is a continuation as Arizona State Route 61 (AZ 61) at the Arizona border west-southwest of Zuni, ...

; it is southeast of

Ramah Ramah may refer to: In ancient Israel * Ramathaim-Zophim, the birthplace of Samuel * Ramoth-Gilead, a Levite city of refuge * Ramah in Benjamin, mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah and also in the Gospel of Matthew * Baalath-Beer, also known as Ramo ...

and southwest of

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

Grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

. It is remotely located west-southwest of

along

(also known as the Ancient Way), and southeast of Gallup. El Morro is named after a nearby sandstone

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...

with a pool of water at its base, a desert oasis which the Spanish conquistadors called ''El Morro'' (The Headland). The

Zuni people The Zuni ( zun, A:shiwi; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni are a Federally recognized tribe and most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Lit ...

call it ''A'ts'ina'' (Place of Writings on the Rock). Anglo-Americans called it "Inscription Rock".

is located west of the community on Highway 53, along the old Zuni-Acoma Trail, an ancient Pueblo trade route also known as the Ancient Way. El Morro is an artist community and home of the El Morro Area Arts Council, an art gallery, a trading post / coffee shop, cafe, RV park & campgrounds, feed & seed store, consignment store and healing arts center. El Morro is the social hub for a colorful array of artists, homesteaders and individualists who reside in a 1000+ square mile area, from

El Malpais National Monument El Malpais National Monument is a National Monument located in western New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. The name El Malpais is from the Spanish term '' Malpaís'', meaning ''badlands'', due to the extremely barren and dramatic volc ...

to the east,

to the west, the

Zuni Mountains Zuni may refer to: Peoples and languages * Zuni people, an indigenous people of the United States * Zuni language, their language Places * Zuni, Virginia, an unincorporated town in Virginia in the United States * Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, a ce ...

to the north, and Candy Kitchen to the south.

Demographics

References

External links

Old School Gallery

Along The Ancient Way - El Morro Valley Community Website

Timberlake - Ramah News

Census-designated places in Cibola County, New Mexico Census-designated places in New Mexico {{NewMexico-geo-stub