Historical Marker
Southern Rockies
These foothills and the higher glaciated peaks to the north are the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains. This particular segment is known as the Sangre de Cristo (“blood of Christ”), a formidable barrier that rises above 13,000 feet in a chain of peaks that trend from Santa Fe on the south to Salida, Colorado on the north.
New Mexico played a significant role in the American Civil War, with Union and Confederate forces fighting several battles in the territory. The most famous of these was the Battle of Glorieta Pass in 1862, which ended Confederate hopes of capturing the Southwest.