McRae Canyon

McRae Canyon is a canyon in the southern Fra Cristobal Range in Sierra County, New Mexico. Its waters are tributary to the Rio Grande, and today flow into the Elephant Butte Reservoir at the head of an inlet in the flooded lower canyon, at an elevation of 4,354 feet / 1,327 meters. Its source is at 33°13′52″N 107°05′50″W / 33.23111°N 107.09722°W / 33.23111; -107.09722, at an elevation of 5,070 feet / 1,545 meters in the southern Fra Cristobal Range.[1] McRae Canyon has one major tributary the Cañon del Muerto that has its confluence with McRae Canyon at 33°11′21″N 107°07′32″W / 33.18917°N 107.12556°W / 33.18917; -107.12556.

History

The Ojo del Muerto, an artesian spring, was located at 33°11′24″N 107°07′43″W / 33.19000°N 107.12861°W / 33.19000; -107.12861, nearby to the west below the confluence of Cañon del Muerto with McRae Canyon. It was one of the few reliable water sources along the route of the Jornada del Muerto, although stock and water carriers had to travel several leagues (5 or 6 miles) west from the trail to the spring and back. It was also the water source of the Apache in the region and for that reason Fort McRae was built in the canyon nearby below the spring in 1863, to help protect travelers on the Jornada del Muerto and impede Apache movement across the Jornada basin.

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: McRae Canyon

Coordinates: 33°11′43″N 107°09′55″W / 33.19528°N 107.16528°W / 33.19528; -107.16528


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.