Official statements indicate that it was initially designed as a gesture of goodwill and cooperation between the United States and Mexico, through the recognition of Coronado's 1540 expedition to the area. For example, in 1939 the House Committee on Foreign Affairs noted:
As a result of this expedition, what has been truly characterized by historians as one of the greatest land expeditions the world has known, a new civilization was established in the great American Southwest.
To commemorate permanently the explorations of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. . .would be of great value in advancing the relationship of the United States and Mexico upon a friendly basis of cultural understanding. . . [It would] stress the history and problems of the two countries and would encourage cooperation for the advancement of their common interests.
Thus the site was first designated Coronado International Memorial on August 18, 1941, with the hope that a comparable adjoining area would be established in Mexico. The arrangement might have been similar to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park between the United States and Canada. However, despite interest by the government of Mexico, the Mexican memorial was never created, therefore Congress changed the authorized designation to a national memorial on July 9, 1952. The memorial was established by Harry S. Truman on November 5 of that year. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the national memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.
In December 2020, explosives and bulldozers were used to clear a path to improve the border barrier.[2]
Recreation
Sunlight near the entrance of Coronado Cave
The Memorial hosts eight miles (12.8 km) of hiking trails to accommodate a wide range of skill levels, ranging from an interpretive nature trail less than one mile round-trip, to a 6.2 mile trail which gains more than 1,300 feet in elevation and offers hikers a direct route to a border marker between the states of Arizona and Sonora.[3]
After a 1978 park boundary expansion, the Memorial also began protecting Coronado Cave, a 600 foot-long cavern containing a variety of formations and historic graffiti which visitors can explore independently.[4] The cave is located within the south slope of Montezuma Peak, which is the highest point of Coronado National Memorial.[5]
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, the Coronado National Memorial has a mediterranean climate. The hottest temperature recorded at the memorial was 106 °F (41.1 °C) on June 19, 2017, while the coldest temperature recorded was 1 °F (−17.2 °C) on December 8, 1978 and February 3, 2011.[6]
Climate data for Coronado National Memorial, Arizona, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1960–present
