Alt Text Map of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, which spans New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Hundreds of sites, towns, roads, crossings, ruts, and other features are labeled on and around two major tour routes: a modern Auto Tour Route and the Santa Fe Trail, which splinters into the Mountain Route and Cimarron Route to the west. Extended Description Though goods and people traveled both directions on the Santa Fe Trail, this description will move east to west. The Auto Tour Route closely, though not always exactly, follows the Santa Fe Trail. This description will focus on sites along and very near the Santa Fe Trail and its branches, though other locations and features are marked widely across the map. Missouri Both the Santa Fe Trail and Auto Tour Route begin at Franklin Site, which is between Booneville and New Franklin in Missouri. The Santa Fe Trail winds west past Boone’s Lick, Arrow Rock, Neff Tavern Site, Harvey Spring/Weinrich Ruts, Grand Pass Ruts, Tabo Creek Crossing, Lexington, Fort Osage, and Blue Mills/Little Blue River Crossing before arriving at Independence in Kansas City, which straddles the Missouri and Kansas state line. The Missouri River winds through Kansas City and follows the general trajectory of the Santa Fe Trail well past the trail’s terminus at Franklin. The Harry S. Truman National Historic Site is also labeled in Independence. Below the city, two lists identify twenty-one “Kansas City Area Sites” and twenty-three “Independence Sites.” Kansas Another leg of the Santa Fe Trail begins in the heart of Kansas City and joins the first leg at Gardner Junction, just west of the city. The first leg passes Lone Elm Campground and the second the city of Olanthe and Elm Grove Campground before joining at Gardner Junction. The Oregon and California National Historic Trails branch off and head northwest from the junction as well. The section traveling through Kansas is the longest of all five states. After Gardner Junction, the trail passes Black Jack Ruts, Ivan L. Boyd Prairie, Palmyra Well, McGee-Harris State Station, Switzler Creek Crossing, Dragoon Creek Crossing, Havana Stage Station, Samuel Hunt Grave, and Soldier Creek Crossing before the trail arrives at Wilmington, which is less than a quarter of the way across Kansas. Next up are Rock Creek Crossing, Council Grove, which has a separate list of eleven sites in that area, Diamond Spring, Six Mile Creek Crossing and Stage Station Site, Lost Spring, French Frank’s Trail Segment/Cottonwood Crossing, Durham Ruts, Ed Miller Grave, 1825 Kaw Treaty Site, a stop with Little Station Arkansas, Camp Grierson, Stone Corral Site, Fry’s Ruts, and Swanson’s Swales. Continuing on are Jarvis (Chávez) Creek Crossing, Beach Ranch (Buffalo Bill Mathewson’s) Well, Cow Creek Crossing, Ralph’s Ruts, Kern Ruts, Plum Buttes, Gunsight Notch and Ruts, Second Fort Zarah Site; Walnut Creek Crossing, Allison and Booth’s Fort, Peacock Ranch Trading Post, First Fort Zarah Site, and Great Bend. The trail splits into the relatively short northern “Dry Route” and southern “Wet Route” shortly after Great Bend. The Dry Route passes Paunee Rock, Ash Creek Crossing, and Fort Larned National Historic Site. The Wet Route passes Pawnee Fork Crossing, Coon Creek Crossing, Black Pool, Lower Crossing, and Jackson’s Grove and Island before meeting back with the Dry Route near Fort Dodge. This falls about halfway across the map and most of the way across Kansas. The trail passes the Fort Mann Site, The Caches Site, Fort Atkinson Site, one of several Point of Rocks, and Santa Fe Trail Ruts before arriving in Cimarron and splitting again. This time the branches take markedly different paths with the Mountain Route to the north, which is mostly in Colorado before ending in New Mexico, and the Cimarron Route, which curves south through Oklahoma and spends more miles in New Mexico. Mountain Route The Mountain Route heads west and slightly north to pass another Point of Rocks, Garden City, Charlie’s Ruts, Upper Crossings, Lakin, and Couteau’s Island. A leg here reaches south and connects with the Cimarron Route for the only time before they meet again in Watrous, New Mexico. Back on track, the Mountain Route passes Indian Mound, Aubry Crossing, and Fort Aubry before crossing into Colorado and Old Granada Site, Lamar, Big Timbers, Bent’s New Fort Old Fort Lyon, New Fort Lyon, Boggsville, Las Animas, Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, Arkansas River Crossing, La Junta, and Timpas State Station and Iron Spring are in Comanch National Grassland. Next up are Iron Spring, Hole-in-the-Rock Site, Hole-in-the-Prairie, Trinidad History Museum, Baca House, and Trinidad. Now traveling into New Mexico, the trail visits Raton, Clifton House (Otero), another Cimmaron, which has a list of five area sites nearby, Rayado, Ocate Crossing, and Fort Union National Monument before coming to Watrous (La Junta). Cimarron Route Starting back at Cimarron, Kansas, the Cimarron Route passes Battle Ground, Lower (Cimarron) Spring (Wagon Bed Spring), and Middle (Cimarron) Spring, and yet another Point of Rocks before jogging for a short but busy jaunt through the western panhandle of Oklahoma. There the trail passes Willow Bar, Wolf Mountain, Upper (Flag) Spring, Cold Spring and Inscription Rock, Cold Spring and Autograph Rock, Camp Nichols, Cedar Spring, and Carrizo Creek. Now in New Mexico as well, the trail goes by McNees Crossing, Turkey Creek Camp at the corner of Kiowa National Grassland, Rabbit Ears Creek Camp, a Point of Rocks, and Wagon Mound before joining the Mountain Route at Watrous. A separate list names five area sites for Watrous. New Mexico Both legs of the Santa Fe Trail have been in New Mexico for about half their length but they finish together by passing Las Vegas, Las Vegas Plaza, Tecolote, Starvation Peak (Bernal Hill), and Pecos National Historic Park, which also has a list of five area sites, before ending, finally, in Santa Fe. Area sites at the terminus include the Santa Fe Plaza, Palace of the Governors, and Fort Marcy Site. Sixteen areas along the whole trail have short paragraphs of red text with history about those places. Legend A legend in the lower right corner of the map reads as follows: Red line for Santa Fe Trail, Yellow line for Auto Tour Route, Green line for Other National Historic Trails, Purple text for Walking/hiking site, Yellow dot for Towns and cities, Black dot for Historic sites, and Green square for National Park Service site. A compass below shows North angled slightly to the right. A scale next to the compass measures distances of 10 and 50 kilometers and 10 and 50 miles.