State parks cover areas of scenic beauty, geologic wonders, and historic interest. Reservoir lakes yielding necessary water, good fishing, swimming, and boating include Conchas, Storrie, Bluewater, El Vado, Ute, Elephant Butte, Caballo, Alamogordo, Clayton, Morphy, and Bottomless Lakes. The latter are natural sink holes east of Roswell. Hyde Memorial Park and Santa Fe River Park, near and in Santa Fe, provide scenic picnic spots, as do Rock Hound State Park near Deming and Oasis State Park near Portales and Clovis. Picnicking, fishing, and spectacular canyons attract the visitor at Rio Grande Gorge Park west of Taos. Weird erosional figures carved from volcanic layers distinguish City of Rocks State Park near Deming. Pancho Villa State Park at Columbus and Kit Carson Memorial at Taos mark historic sites. Valley of Fires State Park west of Carrizozo preserves the black twisted lava of a relatively recent volcanic flow. NEW MEXICO STATE MONUMENTS _by_ Museum of New Mexico Staff The State of New Mexico, recognizing the depth and color of its own history, has established a number of state monuments preserving important historical or archeological sites. These are administered by the Museum of New Mexico located in Santa Fe. Any mosaic of New Mexico would be incomplete without including these important landmarks. El Palacio, Palace of the Governors The main facility of the Museum of New Mexico is El Palacio. The Palace of the Governors, on the plaza in the heart of Santa Fe, is the oldest public building in the United States. Built in 1610, it was the seat of Spanish government in New Mexico until 1821, of the Mexican government until 1846, and the residence of the governors appointed by the President of the United States until 1910, when it became a unit of the Museum of New Mexico. It presently contains exhibits relating to New Mexico’s past, ranging from the Indians, who arrived after crossing the Bering Sea, to the Spanish, who came seeking gold and glory on horseback, to the wagon trains from the east, whose goal was the end of the Santa Fe Trail, which is directly in front of El Palacio. El Palacio was the capitol of New Mexico for 300 years and was the seat of residence for more than one hundred of New Mexico’s governors. During that time it was captured and held by the Indians from 1680 to 1692. The Army of the Confederacy captured it for a few days during the Civil War, and one of its occupants, Territorial Governor Lew. Wallace, wrote his famous novel, _Ben Hur_, within its walls. There are other fascinating units connected with the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe. Among these are the Fine Arts Museum, emphasizing the art and artists of the great Southwest; the International Folk Art Museum; and the Hall of Ethnology, devoted primarily to the peoples of the Southwest. Abo State Monument Off U.S. Highway 60, nine miles west of Mountainair is Abo State Monument.