01Summary
A chalky limestone cliff where emigrants carved their names and the dates they passed. Many inscriptions from the 1840s and 1850s can still be read.
02History
Register Cliff is a chalky limestone bluff rising more than 100 feet above the south bank of the North Platte River, about three miles south of present-day Guernsey, Wyoming. It was the first night's camp west of Fort Laramie. While their animals grazed, emigrants carved their names and the dates of their passing into the soft stone.
Most of the readable inscriptions date from the 1840s and 1850s, the busiest years on the trail. The earliest known date reads '1829 This July 14,' perhaps cut by a French speaker to mark Bastille Day. One family signed three times: A. H. Unthank in 1850, his cousin O. N. Unthank in the late 1860s and O. N.'s son, O. B. Unthank, in 1931. Register Cliff is one of three famous 'registers of the desert' in Wyoming, along with Independence Rock and Names Hill.
About two miles west, near Guernsey, a half-mile stretch of the trail is worn two to six feet deep into a sandstone ridge. Part of that depth came from iron wagon tires, and part from emigrants cutting away the rock to ease the climb from the river.
03Today
Register Cliff State Historic Site preserves the names, and carving new ones is not allowed. The Oregon Trail Ruts State Historic Site is a short drive away near Guernsey.
05Stops nearby
The Oregon Trail ran about 2,170 miles from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City. The stops just before and after this one are below. You can also find Register Cliff on the interactive map.