Petroglyphs at the new Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in New Mexico.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will be in New Mexico tomorrow to celebrate the new Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.

President Barack Obama designated the monument at a ceremony at the Interior Department on Wednesday. He said the 496,000-acre site was home to some of the first Americans.

"Its caves and peaks and cliffs bear the mark of millennia of history," Obama said during the ceremony.

YouTube: President Obama Designates the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument

The All Indian Pueblo Council, the Tigua Tribe and the Fort Sill Apache Tribe supported the designation of the monument. Apache leader Geronomo was said to have hidden in the mountains to avoid capture from U.S. forces, Obama noted.

Get the Story:
Media Advisory: Secretary Jewell to Join Community to Celebrate Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument Establishment (DOI 5/21)
A monumental day for NM (The Albuquerque Journal 5/22)
Obama designates Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument (The Las Cruces Sun-News 5/22)
Obama declares the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks region of N.M. a national monument (The Washington Post 5/21)

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Obama to create monument supported by tribes in New Mexico (5/20)