El Llano Estacodo, a vast plateau covering more than 50,000 square
miles, lies partly within eastern New Mexico. Also known as "the
High Plains", El Llano Estacdo is Spanish for "staked plains".
The name "staked plains" may have been derived from the stockaded
appearance of the escarpment edge, or from the stake-like stalks
of its yucca plants.
Or "staked plains" might relate to the stakes that helped to guide
pioneers from water hole to water hole. Early explorers compared
the featureless vastness to the sea.
The expanse known as Llano Estacado is one of New Mexico's great
land forms. But the true origin of the name is obscure. The true
source of the name will likely remain an unsolved mystery.
