Aztec, New Mexico

Aztec, New Mexico Kinteel [1] [2] [3] [4]
County Seat
Aztec Public Library
Location within San Juan County and New Mexico
Coordinates: 36°49′32″N107°59′34″W / 36.82556°N 107.99278°W / 36.82556; -107.99278 [5]
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	San Juan
Area [6]
• Total	17.15 sq mi (44.41 km2)
• Land	17.06 sq mi (44.19 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0.22 km2)
Elevation [5]	5,820 ft (1,770 m)
Population  (2020) [7]
• Total	6,201
• Density	363.44/sq mi (140.32/km2)
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP Code	87410
Area code	505
FIPS code	35-05780
GNIS ID	2409767 [5]
Website	aztecnm.gov

Aztec is a city in, and the county seat of, San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. ^{[5] [8]} The city population was 6,126 as of the 2022 population estimate. ^[9] The Aztec Ruins National Monument is located in Aztec.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.1 square miles (34 km²), of which 13.0 square miles (34 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (0.8%) is water.

Climate

Aztec has a typical southwestern cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) characterised by hot summers, chilly though not severe winters, and large diurnal temperature variation throughout the year.

Summers are generally hot to sweltering by afternoon, though with pleasant mornings and low humidity. On average, 50 afternoons surpass 90 °F or 32 °C, though only two pass 100 °F or 38 °C, and only five mornings between 1991 and 2020 stayed above 68 °F or 20 °C. 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 0 °F or −18 °C, and 153 mornings fall to or below freezing. The coldest temperature has been −27 °F or −33 °C on February 8, 1933, and the hottest 106 °F or 41 °C on July 11, 2021, and July 18, 2023.

Due to mountain rain shadow effects, precipitation is generally low, especially during the early summer period between April and June. The wettest calendar year has been 1986 with 20.27 inches or 515 millimetres, and the driest 1917 with 2.90 inches or 74 millimetres. The wettest month has been August 1929 with 5.65 inches or 144 millimetres and the wettest day August 27, 2015 with 2.67 inches or 68 millimetres. Aridity severely limits snowfall: the mean is only 10.9 inches or 0.28 metres and the median only 8.5 inches (0.22 m). The most snowfall in a month has been in January 2024 with 26.9 inches or 68 centimetres, and the most in one day 11.0 inches or 28 centimetres on December 17, 1990.

Climate data for Aztec, New Mexico (Aztec Ruins National Monument) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1895–1902 and 1919–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	69 (21)	78 (26)	86 (30)	89 (32)	98 (37)	105 (41)	106 (41)	105 (41)	101 (38)	92 (33)	77 (25)	69 (21)	106 (41)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	56.3 (13.5)	62.7 (17.1)	73.3 (22.9)	80.7 (27.1)	89.2 (31.8)	96.8 (36.0)	99.1 (37.3)	95.8 (35.4)	90.7 (32.6)	81.8 (27.7)	68.7 (20.4)	57.2 (14.0)	99.5 (37.5)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	46.0 (7.8)	52.5 (11.4)	62.8 (17.1)	70.6 (21.4)	79.8 (26.6)	90.3 (32.4)	93.9 (34.4)	91.2 (32.9)	84.2 (29.0)	71.7 (22.1)	57.7 (14.3)	46.4 (8.0)	70.6 (21.4)
Daily mean °F (°C)	31.6 (−0.2)	37.0 (2.8)	44.9 (7.2)	51.7 (10.9)	60.4 (15.8)	70.0 (21.1)	76.1 (24.5)	74.0 (23.3)	66.3 (19.1)	53.7 (12.1)	41.5 (5.3)	32.1 (0.1)	53.3 (11.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	17.1 (−8.3)	21.5 (−5.8)	27.0 (−2.8)	32.7 (0.4)	41.0 (5.0)	49.7 (9.8)	58.2 (14.6)	56.9 (13.8)	48.5 (9.2)	35.7 (2.1)	25.3 (−3.7)	17.8 (−7.9)	35.9 (2.2)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	2.8 (−16.2)	8.1 (−13.3)	14.1 (−9.9)	19.9 (−6.7)	29.7 (−1.3)	38.2 (3.4)	48.6 (9.2)	49.5 (9.7)	35.1 (1.7)	21.6 (−5.8)	11.7 (−11.3)	3.2 (−16.0)	−0.8 (−18.2)
Record low °F (°C)	−26 (−32)	−27 (−33)	−3 (−19)	2 (−17)	12 (−11)	24 (−4)	39 (4)	36 (2)	22 (−6)	6 (−14)	−7 (−22)	−24 (−31)	−27 (−33)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	0.90 (23)	0.75 (19)	0.77 (20)	0.69 (18)	0.71 (18)	0.28 (7.1)	0.96 (24)	1.32 (34)	1.13 (29)	0.94 (24)	0.94 (24)	0.67 (17)	10.06 (256)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	4.5 (11)	2.3 (5.8)	0.5 (1.3)	0.2 (0.51)	0.1 (0.25)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.3 (0.76)	0.9 (2.3)	2.2 (5.6)	10.9 (28)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 inch)	5.6	5.1	4.4	3.7	3.8	2.1	5.1	7.0	5.7	4.7	4.2	5.1	56.5
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 inch)	2.3	1.7	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.7	1.7	7.3
Source: NOAA [10] [11]

Demographics

Aztec is part of the Farmington, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	509		—
1920	489		−3.9%
1930	740		51.3%
1940	756		2.2%
1950	885		17.1%
1960	4,137		367.5%
1970	3,354		−18.9%
1980	5,512		64.3%
1990	5,479		−0.6%
2000	6,378		16.4%
2010	6,763		6.0%
2020	6,201		−8.3%
U.S. Decennial Census [12] [7]

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, ^[13] there were 6,378 people, 2,330 households, and 1,589 families residing in the city. The population density was 253.1/km² (656/sq mi). There were 2,545 housing units at an average density of 101.0/km² (262/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 79.23% White, 0.38% African American, 9.31% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 7.53% from other races, and 3.29% from two or more races. 19.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,330 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 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 non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 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 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,110, and the median income 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

Aztec Ruins National Monument within Aztec is part of the greater Chaco Culture UNESCO World Heritage site ^[14] .

Parks and recreation

Denver and Rio Grande Western steam train at Aztec depot, 1967

As of 2016, Aztec had 16 park and special use areas totalling of 153.5 acres (62.1 ha), and 15.6 km (9.7 mi) of pedestrian trails. ^[15]

Government

Aztec City Hall

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-tem 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. ^[16] 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. ^[17]

Notable people

• Paul Bandy, member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
• Larry Harlow, former outfielder for the California Angels.
• Alex Kennedy, stock car racing driver
• Uma Krishnaswami, 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
• Sandra Townsend, former member of the New Mexico House of Representatives

See also

• New Mexico portal

• List of municipalities in New Mexico
• Aztec, New Mexico, UFO incident

References

1. Young, Robert W.; Morgan, William (1943). The Navajo Language: The Elements of Navaho Grammar with a Dictionary in Two Parts Containing Basic Vocabularies of Navaho and English. U.S. Indian Service, Education Division. p. 120.
2. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Education, United States Department of the Interior (1958). "Navajo-English Dictionary". digscholarship.unco.edu.
3. Navajo Place Names: An Observer's Guide. J. Norton Publishers. 1995. pp. 3, 7, 8. ISBN   978-0-88432-825-4.
4. "Aztec, New Mexico | The Tony Hillerman Portal". ehillerman.unm.edu. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
5. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Aztec, New Mexico
6. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
7. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
8. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
9. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Aztec city, New Mexico". www.census.gov. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
10. "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
11. "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
12. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
13. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved December 7, 2014.
14. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/353
15. "City of Aztec, Parks and Recreation Enhancement Plan,2016" (PDF). City of Aztec, New Mexico. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
16. City of Aztec (2022). "2022 Water Quality Report" (PDF). www.aztecnm.gov.
17. City of Aztec (2013). "2013 Electric Department Integrated Resource Plan" (PDF). www.aztecnm.gov.

External links

• City of Aztec Government
• City of Aztec Visitor Center & Tourism
• Aztec Chamber of Commerce