The Rabbit Ears are a pair of mountain peaks in northeastern

New Mexico, United States ) , 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 ...

, north of the city of Clayton. The two peaks were a distinctive landmark along 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, ...

of 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 ...

, a major route for westbound settlers in the 19th century. The formation was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1963. and The name is that of a Native American chief who was killed here in a battle with the Spanish in 1717. The highest of the two peaks has an elevation of and rises several hundred feet above the surrounding

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

.Flint, Richard and Shirley Cushing, "Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail,

accessed 22 Apr 2019

Description

The Rabbit Ears are part of a formation known as the Clayton Complex, an area of elevated terrain north of Clayton and south of the New Mexico-Colorado state line. Its principal features are two peaks that are a regular presence on the landscape, especially when approached from the east. They are called Rabbit Ears Mountain and Mount Clayton, although the latter has also been historically called the Round Mound. Rabbit Ears Mountain, which has two peaks, is located directly north of Clayton, and is skirted to the south and west by

New Mexico State Road 370 State Road 370 (NM 370) is a state highway in the US state of New Mexico. NM 370's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 64 (US 64) and US 87 north of Clayton, and the northern terminus is at NM 456 east of Folsom. Major ...

. Mount Clayton lies to its west, south of the junction of

U.S. Route 85 U.S. Route 85 (US 85) is a north–south United States Highway that travels in the Mountain and Northern Plains states of the United States. The southern terminus of the highway is at the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, connecting wi ...

and New Mexico State Road 453. The Clayton Complex itself forms part of the Raton-Clayton volcanic field; Rabbit Ears are the only part of that field visible from Texas. The Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail was one of two major branches of the Santa Fe Trail, a major 19th-century settlement route connecting

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

and

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

. Its route branched from the Mountain Route near

Fort Dodge Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Cen ...

, roughly following the watershed of the Cimarron River into what is now northeastern New Mexico, where it then went southwesterly toward Santa Fe. The eastern portion of the route is roughly covered by present-day United States Route 56 and

United States Route 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of the ...

Rabbit Ear Mountains north of New Mexico Highway 370

The Rabbit Ears were a key landmark because they were a highly visible feature of the landscape for more than , and because they were one of the few signs of a sure water supply across that entire area. As a consequence, there are three areas that were regularly used as camp sites by westbound travelers near the two mountains. McNees Crossing on Corrumpa Creek (or McNees Creek), Turkey Creek Camp on what is now called Alamos Creek, and Rabbit Ears Camp on Cienequilla Creek. Each of these creeks ran reliably in the spring, and continued to provide water even after they stopped running fully. Camps would be located along their banks, their exact locations varying based on water availability. Remnant trail ruts are visible in each of these areas. The Rabbit Ears formation figures prominently in Louis L'Amour's novel ''Mustang Man''.

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External links

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Photo of Rabbit Ears Mountain
{{National Register of Historic Places National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico Geography of Union County, New Mexico Natural features on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Union County, New Mexico Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Santa Fe Trail

Description

See also

References

External links