Palo Flechado Pass

Elevation: 9101 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.

Marker is at the intersection of U.S. 64 at milepost 272.5 and Palo Flechado Road, on the left when traveling east on U.S. 64.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources:

HMDB