Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,839. Its county seat is Alamogordo. Its southern boundary is the Texas state line. It is named for Miguel Antonio Otero, the territorial governor when the county was created.
Cloudcroft is a village in Otero County, New Mexico, United States, and is located within the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 750 at the 2020 census.
La Luz is a census-designated place (CDP) in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,615 at the 2000 census. It is located immediately north of Alamogordo and lies in the eastern edge of the Tularosa Basin and on the western flank of the Sacramento Mountains. Until 1848, La Luz was a part of Mexico. The CDP gets its name from the Spanish word for "light".
Timberon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Otero County, New Mexico, United States, and is within the Sacramento Mountains at the southern edge of the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 345 at the 2020 census.
The Sacramento Mountains are a mountain range in the south-central part of the U.S. state of New Mexico, lying just east of Alamogordo in Otero County. From north to south, the Sacramento Mountains extend for 85 miles (137 km), and from east to west they encompass 42 miles (68 km).
The Tularosa Basin is a graben basin in the Basin and Range Province and within the Chihuahuan Desert, east of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and West Texas, in the Southwestern United States.
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.
Hollywood is a neighborhood of Ruidoso, in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States and is part of the Lincoln National Forest. It is located along State Road 48 and U.S. Route 70 in the eastern end of the village, adjacent to Ruidoso Downs. The town was originally named after Hollywood, Florida, and includes a post office, homes, hotels, and retail outlets.
Cathey Peak is a peak in the Sacramento Mountains, in the south-central part of the U.S. State of New Mexico. It lies in Otero County, 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the community of Alamogordo.
High Rolls is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. It is nestled within the Lincoln National Forest at the southernmost tip of the Sacramento Mountains.
Alamo National Forest is a disestablished National Forest in southern New Mexico. The Forest was established on July 2, 1908, by an Executive Order (908) signed by President Theodore Roosevelt that consolidated two existing U.S. Forest Service units, the Guadalupe National Forest, established on April 19, 1907, to protect a part of the Guadalupe Mountains north of the Texas border, and the Sacramento National Forest, established on April 24, 1907, to preserve the heavily forested Sacramento Mountains east of Alamogordo. The new forest encompassed approximately 800,000 acres of public land and was divided into a number of Ranger districts, including the Carson Seep district in the former Guadalupe forest and the Fresnal, La Luz, Mayhill and Weed districts in the former Sacramento forest. The Forest boundaries were enlarged on March 2, 1909, by Presidential Proclamation when Roosevelt removed timber-rich land from the adjacent Mescalero Apache Reservation and added them to the forest. These lands were returned to the Mescalero Apache three years later on March 1, 1912, by an Executive Order (1481) signed by President William Howard Taft, who noted his desire to "restore the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in all respects to the status existing prior to the said proclamation of March 2, 1909, as though the inclusion of the lands within the Alamo National Forest had not been ordered." The final change of boundaries came on April 3, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation both adding to and eliminating lands from the forest area. A little over a year later the Alamo National Forest was disestablished by Executive Order (2633) and the forest's lands transferred to the nearby Lincoln National Forest, a former Forest Reserve first established in 1902 to protect lands around Capitan and Lincoln. Under this new administration the Carson Seep Ranger District was renamed the Guadalupe Ranger District, and the Fresnal district was renamed the Cloudcroft district. The Mayhill and Weed districts retained their names until 1961 when the Cloudcroft, Mayhill, and Weed districts were consolidated into the current Sacramento Ranger District.
Guadalupe National Forest is a former National Forest in southern New Mexico. The Forest was originally established on April 19, 1907 by a Proclamation issued by President Theodore Roosevelt. Led by inaugural Supervisor J. H. Kinney, the forest was initially based in Carlsbad, New Mexico, but within a year the headquarters was moved to Alamogordo. Soon after, on July 2, 1908, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 908. which consolidated the Guadalupe with the nearby Sacramento National Forest to create the Alamo National Forest. Arthur M. Neal, the last supervisor of the independent Guadalupe forest became the initial supervisor for the new Alamo National Forest, with his headquarters in Alamogordo. Under this new administrative scheme the former Guadalupe National Forest was renamed the Carson Seep Ranger District of the Alamo National Forest. On June 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson issued Executive Order 2633, which disestablished the Alamo National Forest and transferred all of its lands to the Lincoln National Forest. As a result of this order, the Carson Seep Ranger District was renamed to its current designation, the Guadalupe Ranger District of the Lincoln National Forest, with its headquarters in Carlsbad.
The El Paso and Northeastern Railway (EP&NE) was a short line railroad that was built around the beginning of the twentieth century to help connect the industrial and commercial center at El Paso, Texas, with physical resources and the United States' national transportation hub in Chicago. Founded by Charles Eddy, the EP&NE was the primary railroad in a system organized under the New Mexico Railway and Coal Company (NMRy&CCo), a holding company which owned several other railroads and also owned mining and industrial properties served by the lines.
Mayhill is an unincorporated community in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. It is surrounded by the Lincoln National Forest on the eastern slope of the Sacramento Mountains, at the confluence of James Canyon and Rio Penasco, approximately 17 miles (27 km) east of Cloudcroft.
U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from Alamogordo, New Mexico, east to Brunswick, Georgia. In the U.S. state of New Mexico, US 82 extends from Alamogordo and ends at the Texas state line northeast of Lovington.
Public Lands Interpretive Association (PLIA) is a cooperating association whose mission is to “inspire and educate the public about the natural and cultural heritage resources of America’s public lands.” PLIA operates https://www.publiclands.org where maps can be purchased and an interactive recreation map can be accessed to find public lands sites. PLIA provides those wanting to visit public lands with information and educational materials such as up-to-date fire news and alerts, and an online map center with Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and other maps helpful to users of public lands.
The Alamagordo Municipal School District No. 1, also the Alamogordo Public School District or Alamogordo Public Schools (APS), is a school district that serves the communities of Alamogordo, High Rolls, Holloman Air Force Base, Mountain Park, and La Luz and portions of unincorporated Otero County in the state of New Mexico.
The Sunspot Solar Observatory (SSO) is an astronomical observatory designed for the study of the Sun. The observatory is operated by New Mexico State University (NMSU) and the U.S. National Solar Observatory (NSO). It is split between operations at the telescope facility at Sunspot, New Mexico, and data and management at the Department of Astronomy at New Mexico State University. The Sunspot telescope facility is in the Sacramento Mountains, approximately 18 miles (29 km) south of Cloudcroft. Access to the facility telescopes and grounds are open for to the public for guided tours. It is funded by the National Science Foundation in partnership with the state of New Mexico.
State Road 244 (NM 244) is a 29.435-mile (47.371 km) state highway in northern Otero County, New Mexico, United States, that connects U.S. Route 82 (US 82) in Cloudcroft with U.S. Route 70 (US 70) northeast of Mescalero.
