| Official Name: | El Morro Valley, New Mexico |
| Settlement Type: | Census-designated place |
| Pushpin Map: | New Mexico#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | El Morro Valley |
| Coordinates: | 35.0361°N -108.3225°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | New Mexico |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Cibola |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 9.93 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 9.93 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
| Area Total Km2: | 25.73 |
| Area Land Km2: | 25.73 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.00 |
| Population Total: | 30 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 3.02 |
| Population Density Km2: | 1.17 |
| Timezone: | Mountain (MST) |
| Utc Offset: | -7 |
| Timezone Dst: | MDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -6 |
| Elevation Ft: | 7471 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Code |
| Postal Code: | 87321 (Ramah) |
| Area Code: | 505 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 35-23497 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2813404 |
El Morro Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. It includes El Morro National Monument and the unincorporated community of El Morro. The area was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census.
The CDP is in northwestern Cibola County along New Mexico State Road 53; it is southeast of Ramah and southwest of Interstate 40 at Grants. It is remotely located 38miles west-southwest of Grants along New Mexico State Road 53 (also known as the Ancient Way), and 55miles southeast of Gallup.
El Morro is named after a nearby sandstone promontory with a pool of water at its base, a desert oasis which the Spanish conquistadors called El Morro (The Headland). The Zuni people call it A'ts'ina (Place of Writings on the Rock). Anglo-Americans called it "Inscription Rock". El Morro National Monument is located 1.5miles west of the community on Highway 53, along the old Zuni-Acoma Trail, an ancient Pueblo trade route also known as the Ancient Way.
El Morro is an artist community and home of the El Morro Area Arts Council, an art gallery, a trading post / coffee shop, cafe, RV park & campgrounds, feed & seed store, consignment store and healing arts center. El Morro is the social hub for a colorful array of artists, homesteaders and individualists who reside in a 1000+ square mile area, from El Malpais National Monument to the east, Ramah to the west, the Zuni Mountains to the north, and Candy Kitchen to the south.
El Morro Valley's climate is affected by the North American monsoon, which comes during the summer months. The rest of the year is quite dry. Typical of high altitude locations in the American west, El Morro Valley experiences a wide average diurnal temperature variation, sometimes exceeding 30-40°F. The highest temperature ever recorded was 100° on June 28, 1953, and the coldest temperature ever recorded was -38° on January 13, 1963. The lowest maximum temperature ever recorded was 4° on February 3, 2011, while the highest minimum temperature ever recorded was 66° on August 10, 1995.[2]