Aztec, New Mexico
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Aztec is a city in, and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of,
San Juan County, New Mexico San Juan County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 121,661 making it the fifth-most populous county in New Mexico. Its county ...
, United States. The city population was 6,126 as of the 2022 population estimate. The Aztec Ruins National Monument is located in Aztec. Aztec was the site of the Aztec, New Mexico crashed saucer hoax and near the site of Project Gasbuggy. The Aztec Museum hosts interpretive displays and preserved materials documenting each of the above, as well as the settlement of the Aztec area.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which (0.8%) is covered by water.


Climate

Aztec has a typical southwestern cool semi-arid climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''BSk'') characterised by hot summers, chilly though not severe winters, and large
diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...
throughout the year. Summers are generally hot to sweltering by afternoon, though with pleasant mornings and low humidity. On average, 50 afternoons surpass , though only two pass , and only five mornings between 1991 and 2020 stayed above . Mornings become chilly quite early in the fall; the usual frost-free period is from May 10 to October 6, and frosts have occurred as early as September 9, 1989 and as late as June 26, 1975. Winter afternoons, though, remain relatively mild; only two afternoons stay below freezing during an average year, although two mornings during an average winter fall to or below , and 153 mornings fall to or below freezing. The coldest temperature has been on February 8, 1933, and the hottest on July 11, 2021, and July 18, 2023. Due to mountain rain shadow effects, precipitation is generally low, especially during the early summer between April and June. The wettest calendar year has been 1986 with , and the driest 1917 with . The wettest month has been August 1929 with and the wettest day August 27, 2015, with . Aridity severely limits snowfall: the mean is only and the median only . The most snowfall in a month has been in January 2024 with , and the most in one day on December 17, 1990.


Demographics

Aztec is part of the
Farmington, New Mexico Farmington (Navajo language, Navajo: Tóta') is a city in San Juan County, New Mexico, San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 46,624 people. Farmington (and ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area.


2000 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, 6,378 people, 2,330 households, and 1,589 families were residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . The 2,545 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.23% White, 0.38%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 9.31% Native American, 0.14%
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 7.53% from other races, and 3.29% from two or more races. About 19.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 2,330 households, 35.3% had children under 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% were not families. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.06. In the city, the age distribution was 26.6% under 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 101.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,110, and for a family was $39,509. Males had a median income of $36,845 versus $17,841 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,750. 17.4% of the population and 14.6% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 20.6% were under the age of 18 and 15.7% were 65 or older.


Arts and culture

Aztec Ruins National Monument within Aztec is part of the greater Chaco Culture UNESCO World Heritage site.


Parks and recreation

As of 2016, Aztec had 16 park and special-use areas totaling , and of pedestrian trails.


Government

The City of Aztec practices a commission-manager form of government as established in the New Mexico state statutes. The five commissioners are elected from each of the five districts. The mayor and mayor pro-tempore are elected among the five commissioners.


Education

Aztec Municipal Schools serves the City of Aztec and rural areas in northeastern San Juan County.


Infrastructure


Transportation

General-aviation service is available at the Aztec Municipal Airport. Highway 516 and U.S. Highway 550 pass through Aztec.


Utilities

Water comes from surface-water sources, including the Aztec Ditch, Lower Animas Ditch, and the Animas River. The city maintains its own water-treatment plant. Electricity is maintained by the Aztec Electric Department, which has a compact electric system with 39 miles of distribution line. The city does not own any generation facilities. The city owns a short segment of 69 kV transmission line within its service territory, and it receives all its electricity through a single substation. As of 2023, the city purchased all its energy requirements from contracts with the Western Area Power Association and the Public Service Company of New Mexico.


Notable people

* Paul Bandy, member of the
New Mexico House of Representatives The New Mexico House of Representatives () is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the South ...
* Larry Harlow, former outfielder for the
California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...
* Alex Kennedy,
stock-car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southe ...
driver *
Uma Krishnaswami Uma Krishnaswami is an Indian author of picture books and novels for children and is a writing teacher. She is "recognized as a major voice in the expanding of international and multicultural young adult fiction and children's literature.""Uma K ...
, author of children's books * T. Ryan Lane, attorney and member of the New Mexico House of Representatives * Steven Neville, real estate appraiser and member of the
New Mexico Senate The New Mexico State Senate () is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state. All senatorial distr ...
* Sandra Townsend, former member of the New Mexico House of Representatives


See also

*
List of municipalities in New Mexico New Mexico is a U.S. state, state located in the Western United States. According to the 2020 United States census, New Mexico is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 15th least-populous state with inhabitants but the List of ...
* Aztec, New Mexico, UFO incident


References


External links


City of Aztec Government

City of Aztec Visitor Center & Tourism

Aztec Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in New Mexico Cities in San Juan County, New Mexico County seats in New Mexico