County: Morton

Date:

Photographer: Bill Johnson/University of Kansas

Place Name: Point of Rocks

Short description: View southwest toward the Cimarron River from Point of Rocks north of Elkhart. Point of Rock was a much-anticipated landmark for wagon trains on the Santa Fe Trail because it signaled the river and springs. The white beds of Neogene Ogallala Formation calcrete overlie older Permian-age beds of shale, siltstone, and sandstone. Point of Rocks was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013 as part of a thematic Historic Resources of the Santa Fe Trail nomination.

Hi-Resolution Version

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