Chiricahua monument in Arizona is now the 64th US national park

New designation of the Land of Standing-Up Rocks, known for its historic rock spires, passed with bipartisan support.

An area of towering rock spires in southeastern Arizona, known among Native Americans as the Land of Standing-Up Rocks, has become the nation’s newest national park. Legislation to create Chiricahua National Park was sent to the White House, and Donald Trump signed it on Tuesday. It passed Congress with bipartisan backing and is now the 64th US national park.

The 19-sq-mile (49-sq-km) site is within the historical territory of the Chiricahua Apache tribes. It was designated a national monument in the 1920s to preserve hundreds of pinnacle-shaped rocks formed from an ancient volcanic eruption. For centuries, the site of the proposed park was home to the Apache, nomadic tribes who often resisted European newcomers to North America. They clashed with settlers until surrendering to US troops in 1886 and being forcibly removed to the San Carlos Apache reservation.