Las Cruces

Sister cities

• Ciudad Juárez
• Nienburg/Weser

History

During the Mexican–American War, the Battle of El Bracito was fought nearby on Christmas Day, 1846. The settlement of Las Cruces was founded in 1849, when the US Army first surveyed the town, thus opening up the area for American settlement. The town was first surveyed as the result of the American acquisition of the land surrounding Las Cruces, which later became the New Mexico Territory. This land had been ceded to the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, which ended the Mexican-American War. Initially, Mesilla became the leading settlement of the area, with more than 2,000 residents in 1860, more than twice what Las Cruces had; at that time, Mesilla had a population primarily of Mexican descent. When the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway reached the area, the landowners of Mesilla refused to sell it the rights-of-way, and instead residents of Las Cruces donated the rights-of-way and land for a depot in Las Cruces. The first train reached Las Cruces in 1881. Las Cruces was not affected as strongly by the train as some other villages, as it was not a terminus or a crossroads, but the population did grow to 2,300 in the 1880s. Las Cruces was incorporated as a town in 1907. Pat Garrett is best known for his involvement in the Lincoln County War, but he also worked in Las Cruces on a famous case, the disappearance of Albert Jennings Fountain in 1896. New Mexico State University was founded in 1888, and it has grown as Las Cruces has grown. The growth of Las Cruces has been attributed to the university, government jobs, and recent retirees. The establishment of White Sands Missile Range in 1944 and White Sands Test Facility in 1963 has been integral to population growth. Las Cruces is the nearest city to each, and they provide Las…

Geography

The approximate elevation of Las Cruces is above mean sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.18%, is covered by water. Its major eruption was 32 Ma. Doña Ana County lies within the Chihuahuan Desert ecoregion, and the vegetation surrounding the built portions of the city are typical of this setting; it includes creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), soaptree (Yucca elata), tarbush (Flourensia cernua), broom dalea (Psorothamnus scoparius), and various desert grasses such as tobosa (Hilaria mutica or Pleuraphis mutica) and black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda). The Rio Grande bisects the Mesilla Valley and passes west of Las Cruces proper, supplying irrigation water for the intensive agriculture surrounding the city. Since the institution of water rights, though, the Rio Grande fills its banks only when water is released from upstream dams, which before 2020 usually occurred at least from March to September. Drought conditions, exacerbated by climate change, mean that the Rio Grande experiences increasingly short or small flows. This area also contains museums, businesses, restaurants, churches, art galleries, and theaters, which add a great deal to the changing character of Las Cruces' historic downtown. In August 2005, a master plan was adopted, the centerpiece of which was the restoration of narrow lanes of two-way traffic on this model portion of Main Street, which was reopened to vehicular traffic in 2012. In February 2013, Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima announced during his "State of the City" address that a park in the area behind the Las Cruces Dam was under construction, in cooperation with the Army Corps of Engineers. The area features trails through restored wetlands, and serves as a major…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• White-winged Dove

  Zenaida asiatica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,318
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  9,055
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,753
• Gambel's Quail

  Callipepla gambelii (Gambel, 1843) · Aves
  5,564
• Verdin

  Auriparus flaviceps (Sundevall, 1850) · Aves
  4,914
• Ladder-backed Woodpecker

  Dryobates scalaris (Wagler, 1829) · Aves
  4,714
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,530
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  4,395

Largest nearby schools

• ORGAN MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL
  High · LAS CRUCES · 1,980 students · 19:1 ratio
• LAS CRUCES HIGH
  High · LAS CRUCES · 1,787 students · 18.2:1 ratio
• CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL
  High · LAS CRUCES · 1,615 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• MAYFIELD HIGH
  High · LAS CRUCES · 1,421 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• CAMINO REAL MIDDLE
  Middle · LAS CRUCES · 965 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• MESA MIDDLE
  Middle · LAS CRUCES · 803 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• SIERRA MIDDLE
  Middle · LAS CRUCES · 799 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• SONOMA ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · LAS CRUCES · 748 students · 15.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2020-10-09
  6 km NE of Mesquite, New Mexico
• M 2.8 — 2015-02-15
  34 km ESE of Pecan Park, New Mexico
• M 2.9 — 2015-02-08
  35 km ESE of Ventura, New Mexico
• M 3 — 2015-02-08
  35 km W of Fairacres, New Mexico
• M 2.6 — 2015-02-08
  38 km ESE of Pecan Park, New Mexico
• M 3 — 2015-02-08
  36 km E of Pecan Park, New Mexico