Point of Rocks is a cliff in

Morton County, Kansas Morton County (standard abbreviation: MT) is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Elkhart. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,701. The county was named after ...

which was one of three landmarks by the same name on the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...

. This one was on the

Cimarron Cutoff The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, ...

. It is now part of

Cimarron National Grassland Cimarron National Grassland is a National Grassland located in Morton County, Kansas, United States, with a very small part extending eastward into Stevens County. Cimarron National Grassland is located near Comanche National Grassland which i ...

. The bluff overlooks the north side of the Cimarron River and lies approximately seven miles north of Elkhart west of K-27.''Elkhart North, KS,'' 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1973 Point of Rocks has been an important landmark for travelers to this region of Kansas. It signifies the closeness of springs and thus water. Many springs are known to exist in the region of the Cimarron River near Point of Rocks. Because of this, Point of Rocks was an important landmark for travelers heading west on the Cimarron Cutoff and for modern day ranchers. Point of Rocks is the third Highest Point in the state of Kansas with the elevation at its summit being . Point of Rocks-Middle Spring Santa Fe Trail Historic District, which includes the cliff, a spring, and four Santa Fe trail segments, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. An overlook on the Point of Rocks looks out over former Point of Rocks ranch area. The overlook includes interpretative displays. A DAR monument was placed on the Point of Rocks in April 1914. Soon after, on May 1, 1914, the a flood of the Cimarron River destroyed hay and numerous buildings of the Point of Rocks ranch, as well as drowning two daughters of the Brite family. The district was added to the National Register on April 10, 2013. Includes maps and 13 photos from 2011-12.

References

External links

Point of Rocks
Geography of Kansas Protected areas of Morton County, Kansas Santa Fe Trail {{MortonCountyKS-geo-stub