Near Antonito in Archuleta County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Welcome to El Valle de San Luis
The San Luis Valley
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 13, 2025
1. Welcome to El Valle de San Luis Marker
What is a National Heritage Area?
A national heritage area is a region recognized by the United States Congress for its unique qualities and resources natural, scenic, cultural, historic, and recreational.
Rich in history, religion, culture, and bio-diversity, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area preserves a special place in our nation's history where the villages and lifestyles of some of America's earliest Spanish settlements still exist alongside newer railroad communities of the late 1800s.
You are entering the home of some of Colorado's earliest people. Prehistoric Clovis and Folsom people, as well as later indigenous tribal people, have hunted and gathered in this valley and surrounding mountains. Spanish explorers, Mexican settlers, fur traders, miners, American soldiers, and others have passed this way. The area was a true crossroads of cultures.
‘Bienvenidos al Valle de San Luis! Welcome!
Spectacular views of the southern San Juan Mountains are before you. This is a land visited for thousands of years to the present by indigenous peoples. Once a part of a Mexican land grant, it was lost to the people who cherished it. Today, it is a national forest to be cherished and enjoyed by all Americans.
Timeline [across bottom of the interpretive
this page online
12000 B.C. Paleoindian people in the San Luis Valley
550 A.D. Ancestral Puebloans settle in Mesa Verde
1000 Viking explorer, Leif Eriksson, arrives in America
1350-1500 Athabascan (Navajo & Apache) people emerge in Southwest
1400 Inca civilization appears in South America
1492 Columbus arrives in America
1565 St. Augustine, Florida established by Spanish (oldest permanently occupied European settlement in U.S.)
1596 Explorer Juan de Zaldνvar enters the San Luis Valley
1596-1800s Spanish & other explorers to the San Luis Valley encounter indigenous peoples including the Ute, Apache, and Navajo
1607 Santa Fe, New Mexico founded by Spanish
1607 Jamestown, Virginia founded by English
1620 Mayflower arrives in Massachusetts
1775-1783 American Revolutionary War
1776 U.S. Declaration of Independence
Erected by Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Commission, Colorado Historical Society, Colorado Department of Transportation, and The Nature Conservancy.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Hispanic Americans • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers.
Location.
2. Marker detail: You Are Here Colorado/New Mexico State Line
Regionally, this marker is on Colorado’s Continental Divide. It is also in the American Mountain West and at the Four Corners. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: This is Our land (here, next to this marker); Nurturing Forest (here, next to this marker); Who Owns This Land? (here, next to this marker); Cumbres Pass (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Historic Operations at Cumbres Pass (approx. 2.7 miles away); a different marker also named Cumbres Pass (approx. 2.7 miles away); Welcome Caminante to (approx. 4 miles away); Los Caminos Antiguos (approx. 4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Antonito.
Also see . . .
1. Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area.
Excerpt: With 11,000 years of documented human habitation, the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area is a crossroads of the centuries. Here a unique blend of Native American, Hispano and Anglo settlement is reflected in the diversity of the people, art and traditions. The geographic isolation of our high desert valley and the peoples enduring ties to the land have given rise to a(Submitted on March 19, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)rich cultural heritage and ensured its preservation. Interwoven with the Valleys natural history is a very long and rich human history. The San Luis Valley served prehistoric and Native American cultures as a seasonal hunting ground where fowl, game, and edible and medicinal plants were bountiful.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 13, 20253. Welcome to El Valle de San Luis MarkerWelcome Caminante to Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic & Historic Byway and The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area
This marker is the leftmost of two interpretive panels on the south side of the Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic & Historic Byway kiosk just north of the Colorado/New Mexico state line.
Looking north; Colorado Highway 17 is on the left.The San Luis Valley is a place where different peoples have converged for thousands of years. The Valleys profound historical, religious, and cultural convergence remains visible in the landscape and can be experienced in its communities, art, food, lodging, and events.
2. Land grants in New Mexico and Colorado (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: Land grants in New Mexico and Colorado were awarded to individuals and communities by the Spanish and Mexican governments to encourage settlement and expansion of the Territorio de Nuevo Mexico, which included southern Colorado. Land grants by the Spanish and Mexicans between 1692 and 1846 numbered 291 in New Mexico, four partly in New Mexico and partly in Colorado, and three in Colorado. The land area of grants totaled tens of thousands of square miles. The two major types of land grants were private grants made to individuals, and communal grants made to groups of people for the purpose of establishing settlements. Communal land grants were also made to Pueblos for the lands they inhabited. The principal objectives of the land grants were to encourage the foundation of new communities and to expand the settled area on the frontiers of New Mexico for defense from Native American raids.(Submitted on March 19, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)After its conquest of New Mexico in 1846, the United States adjudicated the grants and confirmed 157 as valid. The peace treaty between the U.S. and Mexico in 1848 guaranteed the right of former Mexican citizens to their land, but the adherence to that language was inconsistent and compromised by U.S. legal actions which were often corrupt and biased in favor of White claimants and White land practices. By the early 20th century, the Hispano grantees and their descendants had lost a large percentage of the grant land to Whites and public domain national forests. Hispano protests, legal action, and occasional violence to regain or retain their traditional rights to usage of grant lands continued into the 21st century.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 18, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 16 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 19, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
