Skeleton Canyon

A pile of stones marking the site of Geronimo's surrender.
An aerial view of the mouth of Skeleton Canyon
Devils Kitchen at the mouth of Skeleton Canyon, Peloncillo Mountains

Skeleton Canyon, called Cañon Bonita by the Mexicans,[1] is located 30 miles (50 km) northeast of the town of Douglas, Arizona, in the Peloncillo Mountains, which straddle the modern Arizona and New Mexico state line, in the New Mexico Bootheel region.[2]

This canyon connects the Animas Valley of New Mexico with the San Simon Valley of Arizona, and was once a main route between the United States and Mexico for both legal and illegal traffic. While originally known as Guadalupe Canyon, the area became called Skeleton Canyon, as a result of the bones of cows and humans left behind from cattle drives from Mexico.[3]

  1. ^ Hurst, George (January 9, 2003). "Geronimo's surrender – Skeleton Canyon, 1886". Archived from the original on 26 August 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference USGS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Skeleton Canyon". Ghost Towns. Retrieved 2013-03-18.