Dell City, off the beaten path but on the way to the Dunes!

Dell City, a unique farming community off
the beaten path in the Texas Mountain Trail Region

Dell City has a great view of the salt flats and Guadalupe
Mountains National Park

Accessible a few miles off 62/180 just west of Guadalupe Mountains National Park is the farming community of Dell City in Hudspeth County.

Dell City is the closest place for gas, water, and food for Guadalupe Mountains National Park Salt Basin Dunes visitors.   Click here for information on gaining access to the dunes.

Read about the El Paso Salt War, here.

Salt Flat and the Salt War

Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan of
Guadalupe Mountains National Park as seen from the west
 

Approach Guadalupe Mountains National Park and a vast area of white covers the landscape.  This is salt, left over from an ancient sea that covered the area.  Because of salt's importance, it was considered sacred to Native American tribes, including the Apache and Tigua Indians of the area.  It was used to tan animal hides and in food as a condiment and preservative.

From the park's website:

"In 1692, Diego de Vargas led an expedition in search of salt deposits in and around the
Guadalupe Mountains. An Apache prisoner led de Vargas and approximately 20 Spanish soldiers from Socorro, through the Hueco Mountains, eventually arriving at the base of the Guadalupes after a four day trek across the desert. After discovering the salt beds, de Vargas collected a sample of the salt and returned to New Spain (Mexico). This expedition helped pave the way for future Spanish expeditions to the Guadalupes."

Over time, people traveled long distances to harvest the salt,

"Mexicans and Mexican Americans from the El Paso Valley communities would make a 70 mile, two day journey from San Elizario to the salt beds. The salt would then be transported by mule drawn wagons south to Chihuahua and Sonora, where it was an important trade item. In addition to traditional uses, in Chihuahua the salt was used in the smelting of silver.

Prior to 1848, the salt beds, under Spanish law, were common land not owned by any one individual. After 1848, under American law, these were unclaimed lands, available to anyone who filed there. The Mexicans, believing that everybody had the right to the salt, never thought to file claims to the salt beds in the name of any one individual or group."

Which led to the El Paso Salt War:

The El Paso Salt War began in the late 1860’s as a struggle between El Paso businessmen W.W. Mills, Albert J. Fountain, and Louis Cardis in an attempt to acquire title to the salt deposits near the base of the Guadalupe Mountains. Mexican Americans of the valley communities, who had for years collected salt there for free, were now faced with the threat of being charged salt collection fees.

For the rest of the story, click here....

There's a hike in the park with great views of the Salt Flat and of El Capitan.  The Salt Basin Overlook is part of the free and fun Peak Fitness Challenge.  To see the trail's page on the Challenge website, click here.  Join the Challenge and join the fun, and learn about our Texas Heritage at the same time!

Guadalupe Mountains at Sunset from Salt Flat

Today, another lovely photo of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park at sunset from Salt Flat.  The salt in this area is a remnant of an ancient shallow lake, and was important to native peoples as a sacred element, and was used in the tanning of hides, as a condiment and as a preservative.  It was collected by the explorers and settlers in the area.

The National Park's website has a great page on the El Paso Salt War.  Highlights from that page:


"Mexicans and Mexican Americans from the El Paso Valley communities would make a 70 mile, two day journey from San Elizario to the salt beds. The salt would then be transported by mule drawn wagons south to Chihuahua and Sonora, where it was an important trade item. In addition to traditional uses, in Chihuahua the salt was used in the smelting of silver."

"Prior to 1848, the salt beds, under Spanish law, were common land not owned by any one individual. After 1848, under American law, these were unclaimed lands, available to anyone who filed there. The Mexicans, believing that everybody had the right to the salt, never thought to file claims to the salt beds in the name of any one individual or group."

"The El Paso Salt War began in the late 1860’s as a struggle between El Paso businessmen W.W. Mills, Albert J. Fountain, and Louis Cardis in an attempt to acquire title to the salt deposits near the base of the Guadalupe Mountains. Mexican Americans of the valley communities, who had for years collected salt there for free, were now faced with the threat of being charged salt collection fees."

"In September 1877, Howard started a riot when he arrested two San Elizario residents who attempted to go for salt. An angry mob captured and held Howard for three days at San Elizario. He finally gained his freedom by vowing to give up claim to the salt beds and leave the country. He retreated to Mesilla, New Mexico, but quickly returned to murder Cardis in an El Paso store. Angry Mexicans demanded Howard’s arrest. Howard was arraigned for Cardis’ murder and placed under bond to appear in court in March."    

For the rest of the story, click here!

Thanks again to Drew Stuart, Texas Mountain Trail board member and editor of the Hudspeth County Herald and Dell Valley Review.  We've enjoyed your photos all week!

Just west of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, a unique sight and a historic place

Just west of Guadalupe Mountains National Park (you can see the profile of El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak in the photo above) is an impressive expanse of salt.  These salt deposits are the remnants of an ancient shallow lake that was part of the Pleistocene Epoch, 1.8 million years ago.  Salt was considered sacred and precious by the native peoples in the area, and was important to Anglo settlers because it was a preservative and it was used in the smelting of silver. 

These salt flats were the object of much controvery and conflict, including a multi-year conflict known as the El Paso Salt War.  You can read all about it here! 

This stretch of road, Hwys 62/180 is part of the original Texas Mountain Trail driving route, set up in the 1960s to encourage visitors to HemisFair '68 to explore Texas.  You can read more about it here!

Salt Flats at the Guadalupes

A shot of the salt flats taken on Hwy 62/180 just west of Guadalupe Mountains National Park by this week's featured photographer, Ted Bell of Little Rock, Arkansas.

The park's website says this about the Salt Flats:

"Upon approaching the Guadalupe Mountains from the west, visitors traveling from the El Paso area will pass through a landscape of barren beauty. The Salt Flats are a remnant of an ancient, shallow lake that once occupied this area during the Pleistocene Epoch, approximately 1.8 million years ago. Salt collected here as streams drained mineral-laden water into this basin. The basin, called a graben, formed about 26 million years ago as faulting lifted the Guadalupe Mountains and depressed the adjacent block of the Earth’s crust. At the end of the last ice age, approximately 10,000 years ago, the lake dried up as the climate became more arid. The salt deposits left behind would later become a precious resource to the people of the El Paso area."

Salt harvested in this location was the object of the El Paso Salt War.  You can read more about the Salt War, here.

The Park has salt dunes located further into the park.  You can read more about them here.

El Capitan above the Salt Flat

We send our thanks to Val Provencio of El Paso for this lovely shot of the Guadalupe Mountain National Park's El Capitan.

In the foreground, is the white salt left as a remnant of an ancient shallow lake. The National Park has a great page on their website, all about the Salt Flat and the Salt War of 1877. Click here to go to that page.

The national park is a great place to visit on vacation, especially if you like to hike and enjoy a private wilderness experience. For more information on hiking in the region, visit our hiking page, www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike

Guadalupe Mountains from the Salt Flats

This lovely shot on a rare cloudy day, was taken by Val Provencio of El Paso. In the background, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, a great place to hike!

The National Park Service website says this about the Salt Flat (in the foreground):

"Upon approaching the Guadalupe Mountains from the west, visitors traveling from the El Paso area will pass through a landscape of barren beauty. The Salt Flats are a remnant of an ancient, shallow lake that once occupied this area during the Pleistocene Epoch, approximately 1.8 million years ago."

To read more about the Salt Flat, click here. It has an incredible history, including a regional war over its resources.

For more information on Guadalupe Mountains National Park, visit: www.nps.gov/gumo

For information on hiking in the park and across the region, visit: www.texasmountaintrail.com/hike

Thanks, Val, for sharing your beautiful photo!