Eagle Nest, New Mexico facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eagle Nest, New Mexico
Village
Location of Eagle Nest, New Mexico
Eagle Nest, New Mexico Location in the United States
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	Colfax
Area
• Total	5.34 sq mi (13.84 km2)
• Land	4.48 sq mi (11.61 km2)
• Water	0.86 sq mi (2.23 km2)
Elevation	8,216 ft (2,504 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	315
• Density	70.25/sq mi (27.12/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP codes	87710, 87718
Area code(s)	575
FIPS code	35-22020
GNIS feature ID	2413548

Eagle Nest is a small village located in Colfax County, New Mexico. It's a popular spot for summer vacations and resorts. In 2020, about 315 people lived there.

This village is part of the beautiful Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway. It was first called Therma but got its current name, Eagle Nest, in the 1930s. You can find it nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which are part of the larger Rocky Mountains, close to the Colorado border.

Geography of Eagle Nest

Eagle Nest is found in the western part of Colfax County. It sits in a place called the Moreno Valley. To the east, you'll see the Cimarron Range, and to the west, the main part of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The village is also at the northern end of Eagle Nest Lake. This lake is a reservoir, which is like a large storage area for water, on the Cimarron River. The village covers about 13.1 square kilometers (5.1 square miles) in total. Most of this area is land, but about 2.2 square kilometers (0.86 square miles) is water.

Who Lives in Eagle Nest?

According to the census taken in 2000, there were 306 people living in Eagle Nest. These people lived in 141 different homes, with 90 of them being families.

Most of the people in the village were White (about 85%). There were also people who identified as Native American (about 3.3%), African American (0.33%), and from other races. About 12.75% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.

About 22.5% of the people were under 18 years old. The average age of people in Eagle Nest was 44 years old.

Eagle Nest Lake Activities

A view of Eagle Nest Lake, a popular spot for outdoor fun.

Eagle Nest Lake State Park is one of New Mexico's newer state parks. It's a very popular place for people to visit. Many visitors enjoy camping, fishing, and just looking at the beautiful scenery.

A new visitor center was planned to open in 2010 to help people learn more about the park. The lake is quite large, covering about 2,400 acres (9.7 square kilometers). The most common fish you can catch here are kokanee salmon and rainbow trout.

Climate in Eagle Nest

Eagle Nest has a climate that experiences big changes in temperature between day and night. Summers have warm afternoons but cool mornings. Winters are very cold, especially in the mornings.

On average, the temperature drops below freezing (32°F or 0°C) on about 250 mornings each year. About 40 mornings see temperatures drop below 0°F (-18°C). However, the daytime temperatures usually rise above freezing on most winter afternoons.

Eagle Nest holds many records for the coldest temperatures in New Mexico. This includes the coldest temperatures ever recorded in the state during January, March, April, May, July, and November.

Snowfall is quite heavy in Eagle Nest. On average, the village gets about 62.8 inches (160 cm) of snow each year. In one record year (July 1934 to June 1935), it snowed as much as 140 inches (356 cm)! Even with all that snow, there's a lot of sunshine, so the snow cover usually isn't too deep, even in the middle of winter.

Education in Eagle Nest

Students in Eagle Nest attend schools that are part of the Cimarron Municipal Schools district.

See also

In Spanish: Eagle Nest para niños