Aztec, New Mexico

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.1 sqmi, of which 0.1 sqmi (0.8%) is covered by 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, though only two pass 100 F, and only five mornings between 1991 and 2020 stayed above 68 F. 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, and 153 mornings fall to or below freezing. The coldest temperature has been -27 F on February 8, 1933, and the hottest 106 F on July 11, 2021, and July 18, 2023.

Due to mountain rain shadow effects, precipitation is generally low, especially during the early summer between April and June. The wettest calendar year has been 1986 with 20.27 in, and the driest 1917 with 2.90 in. The wettest month has been August 1929 with 5.65 in and the wettest day August 27, 2015, with 2.67 in. Aridity severely limits snowfall: the mean is only 10.9 in and the median only 8.5 in. The most snowfall in a month has been in January 2024 with 26.9 in, and the most in one day 11.0 in on December 17, 1990. |Jan record high F = 69 |Feb record high F = 78 |Mar record high F = 86 |Apr record high F = 89 |May record high F = 98 |Jun record high F = 105 |Jul record high F = 106 |Aug record high F = 105 |Sep record high F = 101 |Oct record high F = 92 |Nov record high F = 77 |Dec record high F = 69

|Jan avg record high F = 56.3 |Feb avg record high F = 62.7 |Mar avg record high F = 73.3 |Apr avg record high F = 80.7 |May avg record high F = 89.2 |Jun avg record high F = 96.8 |Jul avg record high F = 99.1 |Aug avg record high F = 95.8 |Sep avg record high F = 90.7 |Oct avg record high F = 81.8 |Nov avg record high F = 68.7 |Dec avg record high F = 57.2 |year avg record high F = 99.5

|Jan avg record low F = 2.8 |Feb avg record low F = 8.1 |Mar avg record low F = 14.1 |Apr avg record low F = 19.9 |May avg record low F = 29.7 |Jun avg record low F = 38.2 |Jul avg record low F = 48.6 |Aug avg record low F = 49.5 |Sep avg record low F = 35.1 |Oct avg record low F = 21.6 |Nov avg record low F = 11.7 |Dec avg record low F = 3.2 |year avg record low F = -0.8

|Jan record low F = -26 |Feb record low F = -27 |Mar record low F = -3 |Apr record low F = 2 |May record low F = 12 |Jun record low F = 24 |Jul record low F = 39 |Aug record low F = 36 |Sep record low F = 22 |Oct record low F = 6 |Nov record low F = -7 |Dec record low F = -24

Demographics

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

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 6,378 people, 2,330 households, and 1,589 families were residing in the city. The population density was 253.1 /km2. The 2,545 housing units had an average density of 101.0 /km2. 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. About 19.22% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,330 households, 35.3% had children under 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 not families. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.06.

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

The median income for a household in the city was $33,110, and 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 within Aztec is part of the greater Chaco Culture UNESCO World Heritage site.

Parks and recreation

As of 2016, Aztec had 16 park and special-use areas totaling 153.5 acre, and 15.6 km of pedestrian trails.

Government

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-tempore 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. 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.

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

References

References

1. (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.
2. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Education, United States Department of the Interior. (1958). "Navajo-English Dictionary".
3. (1995). "Navajo Place Names: An Observer's Guide". J. Norton Publishers.
4. "Aztec, New Mexico {{!}} The Tony Hillerman Portal".
5. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
6. {{GNIS. 2409767
7. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
8. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Aztec city, New Mexico".
9. "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
10. "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
11. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
12. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau.
13. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
14. "Chaco Culture".
15. "City of Aztec, Parks and Recreation Enhancement Plan,2016". City of Aztec, New Mexico.
16. City of Aztec. "2022 Water Quality Report".
17. City of Aztec. (2013). "2013 Electric Department Integrated Resource Plan".