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 Guadalupe Peak
N 31° 51.238 W 104° 50.677
13R E 514699 N 3524259
This Texas historical marker is within sight of the southern-most part of the very mountain range it discusses.
Waymark Code: WMMDZW
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/06/2014
Views: 11
About 3-4 miles northeast from the intersection of SH 54 and U.S Hwy 62 is a rest area (or scenic overview) where this TX historical marker is located. This rest area is a favorite spot for tourists to pull over and take a photo of El Capitan mountain which looms prominent in the landscape. The historical marker mentions that the Guadalupe Mountain National Park contains the mountain range in which the highest elevation in Texas is found, the summit of the Guadalupe mountain, or peak. It also tells of the wildlife and trees found within this mountain range. It ends by keeping alive the rumor of the belief that the rich gold mines have yet to be found within the mountains. Within view of the sign is the most visible of the mountains, El Capitan. Behind it is the Guadalupe Peak that rises up to the highest elevation in Texas. Multiple hiking trails can take visitors deep into the valleys of this wilderness area that is wisely now preserved as a National Park.
Marker Number: 7930
Marker Text:
Guadalupe Peak, Texas’ highest mountain at 8,749 feet above sea level, dominates one of the most scenic and least-known areas of the state. It lies behind and to the right of El Capitan (8,078 feet), the sheer wall that rises more than 3,000 feet above this spot to mark the south end of the Guadalupe range. The starkness of the mountainside belies the lushness that the Guadalupes conceal. Tucked away in their inner folds are watered canyons shaded by bigtooth maples, velvet ash, junipers and ponderosa pines. Just beyond the ridge lies a forest of Douglas fur and pine that is home for black bears, mountain lions and deer.
Legends of hidden gold in the mountains go back to Spanish rule. One relates that Apache chief Geronimo believed the richest gold mines in the western world lay hidden in the Guadalupes. The true value of the area is the scenery and associated life that resemble the same landscape experienced by early inhabitants. Excavators have found spearheads, pictographs and human remains together with bones of long-extinct bison, dire wolf and musk ox in cliff caves, and carbon-14 dating of remains indicates humans occupied the area 12,000 years ago.
Geologically, the Guadalupe Mountains present spectacular exposure of the Capitan reef, formed by algae and sponges along with other ancient marine life during the Permian period (over 200 million years ago), when much of west Texas and New Mexico was part of the Permian Sea. For centuries, El Capitan has acted as a guidepost for Native Americans, Spanish explorers, the U.S. Cavalry and geologists. Today, visitors to Guadalupe Mountains National Park use the same guidepost to explore the timeless wilderness surrounding it, the hidden oasis found in the mountains.
(2004)
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.
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