Arenas Valley, New Mexico | |
|---|---|
  Arenas Valley  Arenas Valley | |
| Coordinates: 32°46′35″N108°12′11″W / 32.77639°N 108.20306°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Grant |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.07 sq mi (10.53 km2) |
| • Land | 4.07 sq mi (10.53 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,053 ft (1,845 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 1,291 |
| • Density | 317.5/sq mi (122.57/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP code | 88022 |
| Area code | 575 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2584051 [2] |
Arenas Valley is a census-designated place in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 1,522 as of the 2010 census. Arenas Valley had a post office from January 1, 1946, to March 7, 1987; it still has its own ZIP code, 88022. [4] [5] It was named because it was near the Rio de Arenas, a normally dry arroyo or gully, but residents long referred to it as "Whiskey Creek," based on the local legend that a heavy rain in the nearby Piños Altos Mountains flooded an illegal still and whiskey barrels floated down the community's largest arroyo, that passes through the "built-up" area of Arenas Valley. [6]
