U.S. Route 60 (US 60) is an east–west

United States Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

within

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 ...

. It begins at the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

state line and continues east to the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

state line.

Route description

US 60 enters New Mexico in Catron County east of

Springerville, Arizona Springerville is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States, within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP Code is 85938. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,961. Springerville sits at an elevation of above sea level. ...

. The road makes an arc through Catron County, with the apex at Quemado, avoiding Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and Escondido Mountain. East of Pie Town, the road crosses the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

at an elevation of . View E, Entering Pie Town, New Mexico, 2012 - panoramio

Between the divide and Datil, US 60 cuts through

Cibola National Forest The Cibola National Forest (pronounced SEE-bo-lah) is a 1,633,783 acre (6,611.7 km2) United States National Forest in New Mexico, USA. The name Cibola is thought to be the original Zuni Indian name for their pueblos or tribal lands. The name was ...

. In Datil, US 60 serves as the eastern terminus of

New Mexico State Road 12 New Mexico State Road 12 (NM 12) is a primarily west–east state road in western New Mexico. The road is long and runs from U.S. Route 180 (US 180) west of Reserve to US 60 in Datil. NM 12 is located entirely within C ...

(NM 12). East of Datil, US 60 traverses the northern end of the Plains of San Augustin, then crosses the county line into

Socorro County Socorro County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,866. The county seat is Socorro. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties of New Mexico Territory. Socorro wa ...

. The road bisects the

Very Large Array The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, ~ west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twen ...

complex and a track used in rearranging the antennas that make up the Array crosses the highway. Some into the county, the highway passes through Magdalena. 12 - US Route 60, West of Socorro, NM 3-Jan-2010

12 - US Route 60, West of Socorro, NM 3-Jan-2010

It then enters the county seat of Socorro, where it meets

Interstate 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 ...

(I-25). US 60 heads north, running concurrently with the Interstate. US 60 splits from I-25 near

Bernardo Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Fra ...

, about north of Socorro. Most of the route of US 60 from

Abo Canyon Abo Canyon (elevation 5771 ft.), also known as Abo Pass, is a mountain pass at the southern end of the Manzano Mountains of central New Mexico in the Southwest United States. History From pre-Columbian times, the pass provided the most ...

to the Texas line parallels the

Southern Transcon The Southern Transcon is a main line of BNSF Railway comprising 11 subdivisions between Southern California and Chicago, Illinois. Completed in its current alignment in 1908 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, when it opened the Belen C ...

of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

. It turns back eastward, rising through Abo Pass at the southern end of the

Manzano Mountains The Manzano Mountains are a small mountain range in the central part of the US State of New Mexico. They are oriented north–south and are 30 miles long. The center of the range lies due east of the town of Belen. The name "Manzano" is Spani ...

before crossing into

Torrance County Torrance County is a county located in the center of the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,383. The county seat is Estancia. The geographic center of New Mexico is located in Torrance County, southwest of ...

and passing through Mountainair, where it intersects NM 55. After passing through Willard, it sets out across the Pedernal Hills. In Encino, it begins a concurrency with US 285. Just after crossing into Guadalupe County, US 54 joins the concurrency. The three highways pass through Vaughn and then go their separate ways; US 285 heads southeast towards the direction of Roswell, US 54 heads northeast towards both

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

and

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

, and US 60 heads east towards Clovis. 8th Street, Vaughn NM

US 60 angles southeast toward Yeso, entering De Baca County en route. Curving back towards the east, the road enters

Fort Sumner Fort Sumner was a military fort in New Mexico Territory charged with the internment of Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863 to 1868 at nearby Bosque Redondo. History On October 31, 1862, Congress authorized the construction of For ...

, the county seat, later. Just west of town, it serves as the northern terminus of NM 20, and in Fort Sumner proper, it overlaps US 84, which will persist until just before the Texas border. East of town the two highways encounter NM 212, a spur to Fort Sumner State Monument, and NM 252 in Taiban. US 60/US 84 passes through

Tolar Tolar (german: Thaler, links=no) or Jáchymovský tolar is the Czech language, Czech name for the silver coin minted in Kingdom of Bohemia from 1520 until 1672 in Jáchymov (German: ''Joachimsthal''). On obverse of the coin is depicted Saint Jo ...

near the De Baca–

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Rooseve ...

county line. The two routes do not stay in Roosevelt County for long, however, proceeding into Curry County west of Melrose. The highways pass through Melrose, St. Vrain, and Grier before widening out to a four-lane highway as they approach Clovis, the Curry County seat. In Clovis, the home of

Cannon Air Force Base Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The host unit at Cannon is the 27th Special Operatio ...

, the highways meet up with US 70, which joins the concurrency. The three highways proceed through Texico, and just before the Texas state line, US 60 leaves the concurrency and heads northeast while US 70/US 84 continues eastward. For the distance of more than 300 miles (480 km) between Abo Pass and Amarillo, the highway parallels the

, one of the busiest transcontinental railroads in the west.

Major intersections

References

{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=60, statebefore=Arizona, state=New Mexico, stateafter=Texas 60 New Mexico Transportation in Catron County, New Mexico Transportation in Socorro County, New Mexico Transportation in Torrance County, New Mexico Transportation in De Baca County, New Mexico Transportation in Roosevelt County, New Mexico Transportation in Curry County, New Mexico