Historical Marker
Llano Estacado and Oil
Llano Estacado, Staked Plain, is southern part of High Plains province, a high plateau of 32,000 square miles in east New Mexico and west Texas. Crops irrigated by "fossil" water pumped from underground sandstones. Deeper are prolific oil and gas pools, the liquid black gold of southeast New Mexico. Elevation 3,655 ft.
New Mexico was one of the last territories to become a state, gaining statehood in 1912. Before that, it had been part of the Spanish Empire, Mexico, and the United States Territory of New Mexico.