Llano Estacado

This story of the legendary Llano Estacado from 1536 to 1860 informs our understanding of discovery and geography in the Southwest. El Llano Estacado is more than a good read: it is also a native son's meditation on the role of the imagination and myth in how we perceive this unique environment. From the dawn of historic contact with the Southern High Plains, a remarkable series of Spanish, French, Mexican, and Anglo-American explorers and adventurers attempted to make sense of its curious environment. "Lo Llano, " the first part of this saga, is a detective story on the Lost Coronado Trail. The key to this ancient Southwestern mystery - where did the Spanish go in 1541? - is understanding what they saw and how they remembered it in their writings. Part Two, "The Llano Frontier, " studies the three centuries of Spanish exploration and imagination following Coronado. "The Illimitable Prairie, " part three of the study, analyzes the romantic discovery of the Llano in the Anglo imagination. In the final part, "T Great Zahara, " the author rides the trail of the classic Anglo explorers of the Llano: James W. Abert, Randolph Marcy, John Pope, and others. The visual representations of the Llano are also revealed through numerous illustrations of rare maps and lithographs.