Rociada is a settled area 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 ...

, United States, located 27 miles northwest of

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, the county seat. Rociada's name means "sprinkled with dew" in Spanish, reflecting its relatively high-elevation, mild, and moist climate in the summer compared to hot and arid areas of Northern New Mexico.Workers of the

Federal Writers' Project The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) was a federal government project in the United States created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers and to develop a history and overview of the United States, by state, cities and other jurisdictions. It was ...

in the State of New Mexico (1940)
''New Mexico, a Guide to the Colorful State''
p. 378. Coronado Cuarto Centennial Commission The Pendaries

Gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

, one mile east of Rociada is perhaps the best preserved gristmill in New Mexico. Built in the 1870s, the building is on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The

Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire The 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire was the largest and most destructive wildfire in the history of New Mexico. The fire burned between early April and late June in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in San Miguel County, New Mexico, ...

(April to August 2022), one of the largest in New Mexico history, destroyed the forests on all the hillsides around the Rociada valley. Heavy monsoon rains resulted in flooding caused by water runoff from the denuded slopes. The area was evacuated during the fire.

Notable people

Antonia Apodaca Antonia Apodaca (November 1, 1923 – January 25, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter known for her performances of traditional New Mexico music. She came to wider prominence through her performances in the ''La Música de los Viejitos' ...

(1923–2020), a musician and songwriter was born and raised in Rociada.Carlin, Bob (ed.) (2002). ''American Musical Traditions: Latino and Asian American music'', p. 53. Schirmer Reference. . * José A. Baca (1876–1924), the 5th

Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico The lieutenant governor of New Mexico () is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of New Mexico, ranking just below the governor. Thirty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor ...

and his wife Marguerite Pendaries Baca (1876–1971), the 6th

Secretary of State of New Mexico The secretary of state of New Mexico is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Twenty-six individuals have held the office of secretary of state since statehood. Since 1923, every elected ...

had a large ranch near Rociada.

Climate

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in San Miguel County, New Mexico Unincorporated communities in New Mexico