El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro was a Spanish road of about 1,590 miles between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, used from 1598 to 1882. Its most feared section was the Jornada del Muerto, a nearly 100-kilometre stretch of barren desert with no water. The Battle of El Brazito of 1846 was fought on the road south of what is now Las Cruces.
Glossary · History
El Camino Real
The Royal Road of the Interior Land, the Spanish road from Mexico City to northern New Mexico that ran through the valley.