Socorro County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,595. The county seat is Socorro. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties of New Mexico Territory. Socorro was originally the name given to a Native American village by Don Juan de Oñate in 1598. Having received vitally needed food and assistance from the native population, Oñate named the pueblo Socorro.
Catron County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,579, making it New Mexico's third-least populous county. Its county seat is Reserve. Catron County is New Mexico's largest county by area.
The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about 1,026 miles (1,651 km) long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about 47,700 square miles (124,000 km2).
The Cibola National Forest is a 1,633,783 acre United States National Forest in New Mexico, US. The name Cibola is thought to be the original Zuni Indian name for their pueblos or tribal lands. The name was later interpreted by the Spanish to mean "buffalo." The forest is disjointed with lands spread across central and northern New Mexico, west Texas and Oklahoma. The Cibola National Forest is divided into four Ranger Districts: the Sandia, Mountainair, Mt. Taylor, and Magdalena. The Forest includes the San Mateo, Magdalena, Datil, Bear, Gallina, Manzano, Sandia, Mt. Taylor, and Zuni Mountains of west-central New Mexico. The Forest also manages four National Grasslands that stretch from northeastern New Mexico eastward into the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma. The Cibola National Forest and Grassland is administered by Region 3 of the United States Forest Service from offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Elevation ranges from 5,000 ft to 11,301 ft. The descending order of Cibola National Forest acres by county are: Socorro, Cibola, McKinley, Catron, Torrance, Bernalillo, Sandoval County, New Mexico, Lincoln, Sierra, and Valencia counties in New Mexico. The Cibola National Forest currently has 137,701 acres designated as Wilderness. In addition to these acres, it has 246,000 acres classified as Inventoried Roadless Areas pursuant to the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
The Hells Canyon Wilderness is a wilderness area in the western United States, in Idaho and Oregon. Created 49 years ago in 1975, the Wilderness is managed by both the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service and contains some of the most spectacular sections of the Snake River as it winds its way through Hells Canyon, North America's deepest river gorge and one of the deepest gorges on Earth. The Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 added additional acreage and currently the area protects a total area of 217,927 acres (88,192 ha). It lies entirely within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area except for a small 946-acre (383 ha) plot in southeastern Wallowa County, Oregon which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The area that is administered by the Forest Service consists of portions of the Wallowa, Nez Perce, Payette, and Whitman National Forests.
Comanche National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southeastern Colorado, United States. It is the sister grassland of Cimarron National Grassland and contains both prairie grasslands and canyons. It is separated into two sections, each operated by a local ranger district, one of which is in Springfield and the other of which is in La Junta. The grassland is administered by the Forest Service together with the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, and the Cimarron National Grassland, from common headquarters located in Pueblo, Colorado.
McClellan Creek National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southern Gray County, Texas, United States. It was purchased with the goal of restoring badly eroded land to its natural state. The grassland is administered by the U.S. Forest Service together with Cibola National Forest and Black Kettle, Kiowa, and Rita Blanca National Grasslands, from common headquarters located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The grassland is part of the combined Black Kettle and McClellan Creek Ranger District with offices in Cheyenne, Oklahoma.
Rita Blanca National Grassland is a National Grassland on the Great Plains near the community of Texline in northwest Dallam County, Texas, in the Texas Panhandle, and in southern Cimarron County, Oklahoma, in the western Oklahoma Panhandle. The principal city in the area is Dalhart, Texas, which houses the XIT Museum.
Carson National Forest is a national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers and is administered by the United States Forest Service. The Forest Service's "mixed use" policy allows for its use for recreation, grazing, and resource extraction.
Lincoln National Forest is a unit of the U.S. Forest Service located in southern New Mexico. The Lincoln National Forest covers an extensive 1.1 million acres in southeastern New Mexico. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1902 as the Lincoln Forest Reserve, the 1,103,897 acres (4,467.31 km2) forest begins near the Texas border and contains lands in parts of Chaves, Eddy, Lincoln, and Otero counties. The Lincoln National Forest is home to three major mountain ranges: Sacramento, Guadalupe and Capitan. The three Ranger Districts within the forest contain all or part of a total of four mountain ranges, and include a variety of different environmental areas, from desert to heavily forested mountains and sub-alpine grasslands. Clean air, water, and soil are necessary elements that the National Forests contribute to the environment. Established to balance conservation, resource management, and recreation, the lands of the Lincoln National Forest include important local timber resources, protected wilderness areas, and popular recreation and winter sports areas. The forest headquarters is located in Alamogordo, N.M. with local offices in Carlsbad, Cloudcroft, and Ruidoso.
The Magdalena Mountains are a regionally high, mountain range in Socorro County, in west-central New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The highest point in the range is South Baldy, at 10,783 ft, which is also the tallest peak in Socorro County. The range runs roughly north–south and is about 18 miles (28 km) long. The range lies just south of the village of Magdalena, and about 18 miles (28 km) west of Socorro. The Magdalena Mountains are an east-tilted fault-block range, superimposed on Cenozoic calderas. The complex geologic history of the range has resulted in spectacular scenery, with unusual and eye-catching rock formations. They form part of the western edge of the Rio Grande Rift Valley, fronting the La Jencia Basin. The mountains remain isolated and natural due to the absence of any significant human development within or near the range.
The San Mateo Mountains are a mountain range in Socorro County, in west-central New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The highest point in the range is West Blue Mountain, at 10,336 ft. The range runs roughly north–south and is about 40 miles (64 km) long. It lies about 25 miles (40 km) north-northwest of the town of Truth or Consequences and about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Socorro. They should not be confused with the identically named range in Cibola and McKinley counties, north of this range.
Sandia Mountain Wilderness, part of Cibola National Forest, is located east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and comprises much of Sandia Mountains. It became part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1978 by an act of the United States Congress and has a total of 37,877 acres (15,328 ha).
The Purgatoire River, also known as the Purgatory and Picketwire River, is in southeastern Colorado, United States. The river originates in the high mountains of the Culebra Range. Several tributaries merge near Weston in Las Animas County and the river flows east-northeastward 196 miles (315 km) to a confluence with the Arkansas River near Las Animas in Bent County, Colorado. The Purgatoire River drains an area of 3,449 square miles (8,930 km2), mostly in Colorado but a small percentage of the watershed is in New Mexico. The Purgatoire River watershed is lightly populated. Population has been declining since 1920 as former coal mining and agricultural communities have become ghost towns.
The White Mountain Wilderness is a 46,963 acre designated wilderness area managed by the United States Forest Service. Located in the Smokey Bear Ranger District of the Lincoln National Forest, the White Mountain Wilderness lies in the Sierra Blanca mountains of south central New Mexico, approximately 15 miles (24 km) north northwest of the town of Ruidoso.
The Black Kettle National Grassland, in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, and Hemphill County, Texas, contains 31,286 acres (12,661 ha) of which 30,710 acres (12,430 ha) are in Oklahoma.
The Great Western Trail is a north-south long distance multiple use route that runs from Canada to Mexico through five western states in the United States. The trail has access for both motorized and non-motorized users and traverses 4,455 miles (7,170 km) through Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. It was designated a National Millennium Trail in 1999.
Manzano Mountain Wilderness is a designated Wilderness Area within the Cibola National Forest, located about 50 miles (80 km) south-southeast of Albuquerque. It is located in western Torrance County and eastern Valencia County. The Wilderness area includes 36,875 acres (14,923 ha) with elevations ranging from 6,100 feet (1,900 m) to 10,098 feet (3,078 m) at Manzano Peak.
The Withington Wilderness is a 19,000-acre designated Wilderness area located within the Cibola National Forest in western New Mexico. Located in the Magdalena Ranger District, approximately 20 miles southwest of Magdalena, New Mexico, the wilderness area lies around 10,100 ft. Mount Withington, on the eastern slope of the San Mateo Mountains in Socorro County, New Mexico, United States.
