El Camino Del Diablo
| W | |
| Built | 1699 |
| Governing body | United States Air Force |
| NRHP Reference # | 78000560[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 1, 1978 |
El Camino Del Diablo (Spanish for The Devil's Highway) is an historic 250-mile (400 km) road which currently extends through some of the most remote and arid terrain of the Sonoran Desert in Pima County and Yuma County, Arizona. In use for at least 1,000 years, El Camino Del Diablo is believed to have started as a series of footpaths used by desert-dwelling Native Americans. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, the road was used extensively by conquistadores, explorers, missionaries, settlers, miners, and cartographers. Use of the trail declined sharply after the railroad reached Yuma in 1870. In recognition of its historic significance, El Camino Del Diablo was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
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[hide]Original route[edit]
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The southern terminus of the original route was located in Caborca, in what is today the Mexican state of Sonora. From there, it continued through Sonoyta, then past Quitobaquito Springs, then through the lava fields of the Sierra Pinacate, then through theTule Desert and Tule Mountains. After passing just south of Tordillo Mountain, the route crossed the Tinajas Altas Mountains and then continued to the west of Raven Butte and Cipriano Pass. It then followed the western border of the Gila Mountains before finally reaching Yuma Crossing at the Colorado River. From Yuma Crossing, travelers could reach the Spanish colonies of California.
History of the Trail[edit]
El Camino Del Diablo is believed to follow Native American footpaths dating back at least 1,000 years. In 1540, accompanied by native guides, Captain Melchor Díaz led a detachment of the Coronado Expedition through this vicinity en route to The Californias. The first Europeans definitely known to have transited the route were in the party of Jesuit priest Eusebio Francisco Kino, Commander Juan Matheo Mange, and Father Adamo Gilig, who along with attendants and Native American guides (who knew the location of vital water sources needed along the route) first made the crossing in February 1699.[2] The trail offered a shorter route than sailing around Baja California, while avoiding most of the more hostile Native American tribes. However, the 1781 Quechan Indian uprising at Yuma Crossing on the Colorado River prevented travelers from reaching the Californias via the trail. Although Lieutenant Colonel Pedro Fages managed to rescue captured Spanish survivors of the uprising in December of that year, El Camino Del Diablo largely fell into disuse until 1849, when the California Gold Rush brought many new migrants from Mexico to the gold fields of California. Afterwards, the trail was used by both United States and Mexican Boundary Survey teams, mapping and cataloging the land purchased in the 1853 Gadsden Purchase. A second wave of miners used the trail in the 1860s whenplacer gold was discovered along the Colorado River. Many of these migrants would die from thirst and heat exhaustion en route. As a later traveler noted, "frequent graves and bleaching skulls of animals are painful reminders of unfortunate travelers who died from thirst on the road."[3]
The most difficult stretch of the trail was the 130 miles (210 km) stretch from Sonoyta to what is now Yuma, Arizona. Many travelers have lost their lives here, primarily from dehydration, heat stroke, and sunburn, but also from hypothermia. In summer, temperatures here soar to 120 °F (49 °C) and people require two gallons of water a day just to survive. Most of the graves line the last 30 miles (48 km) of the trail to Yuma; by one count there are 65 graves near Tinajas Altas.[4]
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