Historical Marker
Palo Flechado Pass (1)
Elevation: 9,101 ft. Palo Flechado (tree pierced with arrows) Pass was used by natives and newcomers traveling from the eastern plains to Taos by way of the Cimarron River. The name may be attributed to the Flecha de Palo Apache band (first mentioned by Juan de Ulibarri in 1706) inhabiting the plains east of the mountains in the early 1700’s or to a Taos Indian custom of shooting one’s remaining arrows into a tree near the pass following a successful buffalo hunt.
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.