Blue Mountain

(4.5 mi N) Winkler County's highest point (3400 ft.), "Blue Mountain" is actually not a mountain, but is instead the southern escarpment of the Llano Estacado. The site has long served as a lookout and landmark on the west Texas plains, as well as a dependable location for fuel, shelter and water. A 1938 archeological excavation of rock shelters located along the ridge of the feature unveiled signs of prolonged occupation, such as mortar holes and pictographs on the shelters' walls, including images of human hands, serpents, horses and geometric patterns. A spring that once flowed near the rock shelter has become dry due to the lowering of the underground water table. (1964, 2009)