Eastern New Mexico is a physiographic subregion within 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 sover ...
of
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 region is sometimes called the "
High Plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions:
* High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains
*High Plains (Australia)
The High Plains of south-eastern Australia are a sub-region, or more strictly a string of adja ...
," or "Eastern Plains (of New Mexico)," and was historically referred to as part of the "
Great American Desert
The term Great American Desert was used in the 19th century to describe the part of North America east of the Rocky Mountains to about the 100th meridian. It can be traced to Stephen H. Long's 1820 scientific expedition which put the Great Am ...
". The region is largely coterminous with the portion of the
Llano Estacado in New Mexico. Portions of Eastern New Mexico's elevation extends to over . The region is characterized by flat, largely-featureless terrain with the exception of the
Pecos River
The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico ...
valley and the abrupt breaks along the
Mescalero Ridge
The Mescalero Ridge forms the western edge of the great Llano Estacado, a vast plateau or tableland in the southwestern United States in New Mexico and Texas. It is the western equivalent of the Caprock Escarpment, which defines the eastern edge ...
and northern
caprock escarpments of the
Llano Estacado. The region typically lacks the high relief of central and northern New Mexico, such as that in the
Sangre de Cristo and
Sandia mountain ranges. The climate is semi-arid with hot summers and is characterized by significant wind and dust storms in the springtime.
Like much of the Llano Estacado region, Eastern New Mexico is largely rural and agricultural, and resembles
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio.
No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...
in geography, economy, and demographics. Population is sparse as compared to the rest of the country. The region includes portions of the counties of
Curry
A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...
,
De Baca,
Guadalupe,
Lea
Lea or LEA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Lea River, Tasmania, Australia
* Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows
* RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA"
England
* Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish
* Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...
,
Quay
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...
, and
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 ...
. It is served by
Eastern New Mexico University
Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU or Eastern) is a public university with a main campus in Portales, New Mexico, and two associate degree-granting branches, one at Ruidoso and one at Roswell. ENMU is New Mexico's largest regional comprehensiv ...
, a
state university
A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country.
State univers ...
located in
Portales, and the
Blackwater Draw
Blackwater Draw is an intermittent stream channel about long, with headwaters in Roosevelt County, New Mexico, about southwest of Clovis, New Mexico, and flows southeastward across the Llano Estacado toward the city of Lubbock, Texas, where i ...
archaeological site is located there.
Cities in Eastern New Mexico
The largest cities in Eastern New Mexico are:
Gallery
File:Great Plains Eastern New Mexico 2004.jpg, West of Hobbs, Lea County, New Mexico
Lea County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, its population was 64,727.
Its county seat is Lovington. It is both west and north of the Texas state line. Lea County comprises the Hobbs, NM micropoli ...
.
File:Kenna New Mexico Ranch Gate.jpg, Gate leading to fenced pastureland in the wide open spaces south of Kenna
Kenna Zemedkun, known professionally as Kenna, is an Ethiopian-born American musician, philanthropist and technology creative. His track "Say Goodbye to Love" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 2009 Grammy Awards. Kenna ...
, Roosevelt County, New Mexico
Roosevelt County is a List of counties in New Mexico, county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 19,846. Its county seat is Portales, New Mexico, Portales. The county was ...
.
File:Bellview New Mexico Post Office 2010.jpg, Abandoned post office in Bellview, Curry County, New Mexico
Curry County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, its population was 48,376. Its county seat is Clovis. The county is named in honor of George Curry, territorial governor of New Mexico from 1907 to 1910 ...
.
See also
*
Caprock Escarpment
*
Llano Estacado
*
Lucianosaurus
''Lucianosaurus'' is an extinct genus of amniote of unknown affinities, known only from teeth. Initially described as a basal ornithischian dinosaur, subsequently reclassified as a member of the clade Archosauriformes of uncertain phylogenetic ...
*
Mescalero Ridge
The Mescalero Ridge forms the western edge of the great Llano Estacado, a vast plateau or tableland in the southwestern United States in New Mexico and Texas. It is the western equivalent of the Caprock Escarpment, which defines the eastern edge ...
*
Pecos River
The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico ...
*
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio.
No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...
External links
High Plains Historical FoundationPublic domain images of the Llano Estacado and Eastern New Mexico
Regions of New Mexico
{{NewMexico-geo-stub