Skeleton Canyon is located 30 miles northeast of the town of Douglas, Arizona, in the Peloncillo Mountains, which straddles the modern Arizona and New Mexico state line border. This canyon connects the Animas Valley of New Mexico with the San Simon Valley of Arizona. Geronimo's final surrender to General Miles in 1886 occurred at the western edge of this canyon. There is a Geronimo surrender monument along the paved highway, since the actual surrender site is on private land.
According to local legend, Spanish Conquistadors used the canyon as a hiding place for gold bullion that was to be transported to Mexico and then on to Spain (although there is no historical record of any gold discovery by early Spanish explorers of this region). Supposedly, an old map discovered by hikers in 1954 alludes to a buried treasure of goldcitation needed, but because of damage to this map, it is incomplete. Purportedly, what does appear on the map is a reference that over 4000 lb. of gold bars were buried in a cave. The treasure has never been found.
