Ribera is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in San Miguel County,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. Located in the northern part of the state, it is at the foot of Rowe Mesa and along the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( ; ) 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, at an elev ...

, southeast of Santa Fe.

Geography

The town is divided by

Interstate 25 Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, 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 st ...

and Route 3, which was along the original

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

, and a great deal of evidence from the famous motor-tourist route still remains in the form of old rusted cars and long abandoned structures. The area is home to many artists and ranchers. The town has a now closed gas station and general store called Sunshine Station. The town had one restaurant that is a well-known landmark throughout the surrounding area named La Risa Cafe (formerly known as the Sad Cafe), as well as a nearby general store of the same name; the hours of operation are sporadic. East of Ribera is the site of the

Imus Ranch The Imus Ranch was a working cattle ranch of nearly located in Ribera, New Mexico, southeast of Santa Fe. Between 1998–2014, it was the site of a non-profit charitable program for seriously ill children, founded by long-time radio persona ...

, a non-profit organization that from 1999 to 2014 helped children of all ages afflicted with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. The

FOX Business Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American conservative business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios ...

program ''

Imus in the Morning ''Imus in the Morning'' was a long-running radio show hosted by Don Imus. The show originated on June 2, 1968, on various stations in the Western United States and Cleveland, Ohio, before settling on WNBC radio in New York City in 1971. In Octo ...

'' regularly broadcast from the Imus Ranch. South of Ribera is

San Miguel del Vado San Miguel del Vado (; also spelled ''Bado'') is an unincorporated community in San Miguel County, New Mexico, San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Description The community is located about south of Interstate 25 in New Mexico, Inters ...

, an even smaller unincorporated community and a former stop on the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...

. West of Ribera is the Glorieta Mesa portion of the

Santa Fe National Forest The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers . Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 feet (4000 m) at the su ...

Demographics

Education

It is in the West Las Vegas Schools school district.

West Las Vegas High School West Las Vegas High School (WLVHS) is a public senior high school in Las Vegas, New Mexico and the only such high school in the West Las Vegas Schools District. Founded in 1947, it is the oldest high school in the city. The mascot of WLVHS is ...

is the area high school.

Notable people

Richard Vigil Richard D. Vigil is an American politician and businessman who served as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives for the 70th district from 1999 to 2012. Background Vigil is a native of Ribera, New Mexico. Elected to the New Mexi ...

, former 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 ...

Geography

Demographics

Education

Notable people

References

Related links