The route of Jornada del Muerto trail.
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This page is about geography. For the film, see Jornada del Muerto (film).

The Jornada del Muerto ("Journey of the Dead Man" in Spanish, often mistranslated as "Journey of the Dead") in New Mexico was the name given by the Spanish conquistadors to a desert basin and the particularly dry 100-mile (160 km) stretch of the route through it leading northward from New Spain (or Mexico) to northern New Mexico. This route became El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. The Jornada del Muerto runs between the Oscura and San Andres Mountains on the east, with the Caballo Mountains and the Fray Cristóbal Range on the west. The name Jornada del Muerto Volcano refers to a shield volcano and lava field, about 10 by 15 miles (16 x 24 km) in size and reaching an elevation of 5,136 ft (1,565 m), located at the northern end of the desert basin. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 378 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (916 × 1,453 pixels, file size: 194 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 378 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (916 × 1,453 pixels, file size: 194 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Largest metro area Albuquerque metropolitan area Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... A Conquistador (Spanish: []) (English: Conqueror) was a Spanish soldier, explorer and adventurer who took part in the gradual invasion and conquering of much of the Americas and Asia Pacific, bringing them under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Largest metro area Albuquerque metropolitan area Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail is a part of the United States National Historic Trail system. ... The San Andres Mountains is a mountain range in the state of New Mexico of the United States, in the counties of Socorro, Sierra, and Doña Ana. ... The Jornada del Muerto Volcano is a small shield volcano and lava field in central New Mexico, about 10 by 15 miles (16 x 24 km) in size and reaching an elevation of 5,136 ft (1,565 m). ... Shield volcano A shield volcano is a large volcano with shallow-sloping side. ... A lava plain, or lava field, is an expanse of land where lava is flowing. ...

History

The name, Journey of the Dead Man probably originated with a German man who died there while fleeing the Inquisition in the later 1600s, although due to the complete lack of water, grazing or firewood the route through this area already had a negative reputation. Although quite flat, the Jornada del Muerto took several days to a week to cross and presented great difficulties to the earliest Spanish travelers who were on horseback, with wagons pulled by oxen or on foot. This article is about the Inquisition by the Roman Catholic Church. ...

After passing the "Jornada del Muerto" the earliest Spanish encountered, not the Seven Cities of Cíbola, but the humbler walled villages of the Pueblo dwellers, who had a well-developed agriculture and a peaceable tradition. At the first crossing the Jornada del Muerto in 1598 they named the first pueblo they came to Socorro (Spanish for 'help' or 'assistance'). Quivira and Cíbola are two of the fantastic Seven Cities of Gold existing only in a myth that originated around the year 1150 when the Moors conquered Mérida, Spain. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Pueblo Indians . ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ... Socorro is a city located in Socorro County, New Mexico in the Rio Grande Valley, at an elevation of 4579 feet. ...

In 1680, during the Pueblo Revolt the Spanish settlers were forced to retreat southward, along the Jornada del Muerto, together with Indians from the Isleta and Socorro Pueblos. Of the more than 2000 who left Socorro fewer than 1200 survived the crossing. The survivors resettled on the Rio Grande around and just north of El Paso del Norte, 'the Pass to the North', which is now separated into Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas. In 1692, Diego de Vargas led a new group of settlers north across the Jornada del Muerto to northern New Mexico. Events First Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau The Swedish city Karlskrona was founded as the Royal Swedish Navy relocated there. ... 1680-The Pueblo Revolt, by George Chacón, Taos Mural Project The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 or Popés Rebellion was an uprising of many pueblos of the Pueblo people against Spanish colonists in the New Spain province of New Mexico. ... “Río Bravo” redirects here. ... Ciudad Juárez, or simply Juárez, is a city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua formerly known as El Paso del Norte. ... This article is about the state in Mexico; for the city of Chihuahua, see: Chihuahua. ... El Paso redirects here. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... Events February 13 - Massacre of Glencoe March 1 - The Salem witch trials begin in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony with the charging of three women with witchcraft. ... Diego de Vargas Zapata y Luján Ponce de León y Contreras (1643 – 1704), commonly known as Don Diego de Vargas, was a Spanish Governor of the New Spain territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, today the U.S. state of New Mexico, titular 1688 – 1692, effective...

Homesteaders in the 1860s to 1920s tried to ranch in the Jornada del Muerto, digging wells for the cattle. The first well was at Aleman, dug by Lt. John Martin, and it appears to be the last of the homesteads to be abandoned at the end of the twentieth century.

In 1945 the Jornada del Muerto, as desolate as ever, was picked as the site for the first atomic bomb. Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... An early stage in the Trinity fireball. ...

Geography

The top third of the image, which is oriented with the top to the northwest, is the Jornada del Muerto. The bottom half of the image is the Tularosa Basin, and the forested Sacramento Mountains to the east, with the tallest peak, Sierra Blanca, a ski resort, at 12,000 feet (3,650 m) altitude. The White Sands are in the Tularosa Basin. The Carrizozo Malpais is the dark streak of lava, north of White Sands. Trinity Site is northwest of the Malpais. Earth Sciences and Image Analysis, NASA-Johnson Space Center. 29 Dec. 2003

The Jornada del Muerto is a long stretch of flat, essentially waterless land about 100 miles (160 km) from north to south that remains almost entirely uninhabited and undeveloped to this day. The two small mountain ranges on the west, the Caballo Mountains on the south end and the Fra Cristobal Range on the north, prevent access to the Rio Grande which is the most stable water source in the area. Nasa Astronaut photo Mission-Roll-Image ISS008-E-5616 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis, NASA-Johnson Space Center. ... Nasa Astronaut photo Mission-Roll-Image ISS008-E-5616 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis, NASA-Johnson Space Center. ... The Tularosa Basin is a graben basin in the basin and range area east of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, mostly in Otero County. ... Sacramento Mountains an eastern extension of the Rocky Mountains in southwestern New Mexico into West Texas. ... White Sands National Monument is well-known for its fields of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. ... The Carrizozo Malpais is the long dark streak across the bottom half of the image. ... “Río Bravo” redirects here. ...

The Jornada del Muerto trail leaves the Rio Grande at old Fort Selden, just north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the last intermittent water is at Paraje Perillo. The trail passes Point of Rocks which is the southern most point of the closed Jornada basin. The trail heads basically north through mesquite scrub land to Aleman, named for a German merchant who died of thirst there in the 1670s. There is an old homestead there now. Further north the trail crosses a number of small dry lake beds, the largest of which is Laguna del Muerto. “Río Bravo” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum Las Cruces is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. ... The shores of Lake Hart, an endorheic desert lake in South Australia In geography, an endorheic basin—also called a terminal or closed basin—is a watershed from which there is no outflow of water, either on the surface as rivers, or underground by flow or diffusion through rock or... It has been suggested that Playa lake be merged into this article or section. ...

At the upper end of the basin the trail is squeezed between the Fra Cristóbal Mountains and the Jornada del Muerto lava fields. The waterless portion of the trail ends at Paraje Fra Cristóbal, but the trail continues north across a small portion of the lava fields which originally reached across the Rio Grande. This large lava field, over 170 square miles (440 km²) in size and called the Jornada del Muerto Volcano by volcanologists, erupted about 760,000 years ago. It produced a slow and viscous aa lava which has a very rough surface, making travel across it even more difficult. Look up lava, Aa, pahoehoe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... “Río Bravo” redirects here. ... A lava plain, or lava field, is an expanse of land where lava is flowing. ... The Jornada del Muerto Volcano is a small shield volcano and lava field in central New Mexico, about 10 by 15 miles (16 x 24 km) in size and reaching an elevation of 5,136 ft (1,565 m). ...

Located just to the east of the southernmost portion of the Jornada del Muerto is the Jornada LTER station, used for study of desert ecology, land management, plant physiology, and related topics. LTER Network logo. ...

References

• "Jornada del Muerto: Retracing the Dead Man's Journey" by Douglas Preston New Mexico Magazine, September 1994, p. 24-31.
• "Jornada Del Muerto — 90 miles of hell" by Sally Bickley
• Volcanoes of New Mexico: Jornada del Muerto Volcano. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
• Crumpler, L. S., and J. C. Aubele, (1990), Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, in Volcanoes of North America, C. A. Wood and J. Kienle. eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 309-310.

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Jornada del Muerto Complex