State Road 120 (NM 120) is a state road in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. The route traverses four counties: Colfax,

Mora Mora may refer to: People * Mora (surname) Places Sweden * Mora, Säter, Sweden * Mora, Sweden, the seat of Mora Municipality * Mora Municipality, Sweden United States * Mora, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Mora, Minnesota, a city * M ...

, Harding, and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and is the longest state road in New Mexico. The highway's only grade-separated interchange is with Interstate 25 (I-25) in Wagon Mound.

Route description

Starting as

paved road A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cob ...

in the far southwestern corner of Colfax County in the community of Black Lake at the intersection with Route 434, New Mexico State Road 120 changes into an unpaved road just before mile marker 3. It travels east around the northern edge of Ocate Mesa and then heads southeast down Manueles Canyon on the northeastern side of Ocate Mesa.Raton, N. Mex.; Colo., NJ 13-11, 1:250,000 topographic map"
1954, revised 1976

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

Due east of the top of Ocate Mesa it enters Mora County and heads south-southeast. Passing the south end of Ocate Mesa, the road heads southeast and at mile marker 12 the surface becomes paved again. In winter, this unpaved section is prone to heavy ice, snowpack, and mud. NM 120 Mile 12

After mile marker 12, the road continues southeastward passing the unpaved Los Le Febres turnoff on the right (to the west). At this point Manueles Creek on the left side of the road is joined by Wheaton Creek to form Ocate Creek, and the road follows Ocate Creek southeast with the Maxwell Land Grant on the left (NE) and the Mora Land Grant on the right (SW). The road then enters the community of Ocate where it intersects with Route 442. Leaving Ocate again alongside Ocate Creek, the road heads east twisting through the foothills of Los Naranjos Peak to the south in the Ocate Creek

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a prac ...

into the community of Naranjos. From Naranjos the road leaves the Ocate Creek bed and heads almost straight southeast, passing numerous ranch roads, for to the town of Wagon Mound. out of Naranjos, the road passes the in elevation, La Chata Crater, on the left (NE).Burdett, William H. (1998) ''The Roads of New Mexico'' Shearer Publishing, Fredericksburg, Texas, pages 36–37, Just before the town the road turns east and still on the west side of Wagon Mound, it has its only interchange at its intersection with

I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...

(exit 387). The road then crosses the intercontinental railroad tracks of the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

. Within Wagon Mound the road heads east and is called Park Avenue. Leaving Wagon Mound, the road again passes numerous ranch roads heading east, past Los Mesas del Conjelon on the right (south), for about and then heading southeast another to its intersection with the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about ."NM 120 – Bridge Replacement Project Canadian River"
New Mexico State Transportation Department NM Hwy 120 MM 44 Looking West

Crossing the Canadian River bridge the road enters Harding County and then heads north-northeast about into the town of

Roy Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

. The road comes into Roy as the Wagon Mound Highway, then zags up to Second Street and then up to Third Street where it intersects with Route 39. Then heading three blocks east as Third Street, the road turns due north as Floersheim Street and leaves Roy as the Yates Highway. Running along section lines the road heads north and east intermittently, passing numerous ranch roads and going through part of the

Kiowa National Grassland Kiowa National Grassland is a National Grassland, located in northeastern New Mexico. The southwestern Great Plains grassland includes prairie and part of the Canadian River Canyon. Sections It is located in two non-adjacent units of northeast ...

which is predominately north of the road,DeLorme Mapping Company (2000) ''New Mexico Atlas & Gazetteer'' (second edition) DeLorme, Yarmouth, Maine, page 26, for to the community of Yates. later heading due north the road passes into Union County. After in Union County headed mostly north, but still on section lines, the road terminates at its intersection with U.S. Route 56 and U.S. Route 412 east of

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. A dirt road continues north at that point for a couple of miles into the Don Carlos Hills.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{authority control 120 Transportation in Colfax County, New Mexico Transportation in Mora County, New Mexico Transportation in Harding County, New Mexico Transportation in Union County, New Mexico

Route description

Major intersections

See also

References

External links