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Photograph of Register Cliff
Photograph by Unknown, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Register Cliff

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

From the record

“It is notable as a historic landmark for 'registering' hundreds of emigrants on the Oregon Trail who came to follow custom and inscribed their names on its rocks during the western migrations of the 19th century. An estimated 500,000 emigrants used these trails from 1843 to 1869, with up to one-tenth dying along the way, usually due to disease.”

Wikipedia article Register Cliff, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 14 National Register listings published here for Platte County · listed in 1970 · category: Site.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 site as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. SE of Guernsey on N. Platte River, Guernsey, 82214
  • When was it listed? April 1970
  • Category. site
  • Census division. Guernsey
  • National Register reference number. 70000674 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

22 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 22 fires within 5 miles of Register Cliff between 1996 and 2018, burning about 4,715 acres in total. 3 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Equipment and vehicle use4
Natural3
Debris and open burning2
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
21 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined480 acresWyoming State Forestrynot named
15 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePlatte CountyN23
11 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined256 acresCasper Field OfficeTANK FARM
10 September 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acrePlatte CountyCOMMUNICATION
5 August 2002Natural2.0 acresWyoming State Forestrynot named
23 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresWyoming State Forestrynot named
15 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined17 acresWyoming State Forestrynot named
20 July 2018Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresPlatte CountyN31

Every fire recorded in Platte County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Register Cliff: 4 occurrences, 2 past producers, 2 producers, 2 prospects. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Dolomite, Iron, Graphite, Silica. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Green Mtn BoyCopper, SilverPast Producer
Guernsey QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Pete Kiewit & SonsStoneProducer
Wilde & Deer Corne MinesSilicaPast Producer
Unidentified ProspectIronOccurrenceHematite
UnknownDolomiteProspect
UnknownGraphiteOccurrence
UnknownGraphiteOccurrence
UnknownDolomiteProspect
UnnamedIronOccurrence

Every working recorded in Platte County

Storms near this property

39 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Guernsey, the town this property stands in, in 39 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 29 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2000HailGuernsey$30,000no account filed
July 1997FloodGuernsey$5,000Time approximate; road washed out near Platte River.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindGuernsey$1,000Time approximate; residential storm window blown out, large tree split.
July 2025HailGuernsey-Social media post showing ping pong ball size hail.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindGuernsey-Camp Guernsey Airport measured gust 64 mph.
June 2025HailGuernsey-Pictures on Social Media showed numerous 1 inch hailstones east of Guernsey.
June 2024HailGuernsey-Guernsey State Park officials reported quarter sized hail 2 miles NNW of Guernsey.
September 2023HailGuernsey-A trained spotter found 1-inch hail on the ground accumulated several inches deep, approximately 4 miles W of Guernsey. Estimated time hail fell based on radar.
July 2020HailGuernsey-Lasted about 10 minutes. Time estimated off of radar.
June 2017HailGuernsey-Quarter size hail was observed six miles south of Guernsey.
June 2016HailGuernsey-Quarter size hail was reported at Guernsey.
June 2015HailGuernsey-Quarter size hail was observed five miles west of Guernsey.
June 2015HailGuernsey-Golf ball size hail was observed five miles north of Guernsey.
May 2014HailGuernsey-Quarter size hail was reported in Guernsey.
May 2014Flash FloodGuernsey-Highway 26 eight to ten miles west of Guernsey was closed by more than six inches of water.
July 2013HailGuernsey-Quarter size hail was reported just north of Guernsey.
June 2013HailGuernsey-Nickel to quarter size hail was reported in Guernsey.
June 2012Funnel CloudGuernsey-A funnel cloud was reported a mile east of the Grayrocks Reservoir.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindGuernsey-A camper was blown over on a campground bordering the east side of Grayrocks Reservoir.
May 2010HailGuernsey-There was some damage to vehicles with windshield broken.
May 2007Tornado (EF0)Guernsey-Brief tornado spotted just east of Interstate 25 near mile marker 94.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindGuernsey-Report from military personnel at Camp Guernsey. 3-inch diameter tree limbs blown down.
May 2000Tornado (F0)Guernsey-Brief tornado touched down, but caused no damage.
July 2019HailGuernsey-no account filed
August 2019HailGuernsey-no account filed
September 2019HailGuernsey-no account filed
June 2011HailGuernsey-no account filed
August 2011HailGuernsey-no account filed
June 2010HailGuernsey-no account filed
August 2009HailGuernsey-no account filed
June 2008HailGuernsey-no account filed
September 2008HailGuernsey-no account filed
May 2006HailGuernsey-no account filed
June 2005HailGuernsey-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindGuernsey-no account filed
May 2000HailGuernsey-no account filed
May 2000HailGuernsey-no account filed
June 1997HailGuernsey-no account filed
June 1997HailGuernsey-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Platte County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

4 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Oregon Trail Ruts1.9 miles1966
Guernsey Lake Park4.4 miles1980
Sunrise Mine Historic District5.8 miles2005
Lake Guernsey State Park7.1 miles1997

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 70000674 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Platte CountyAll 14 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.