La Cienega, New Mexico facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
La Cienega, New Mexico
|
|
|---|---|
Location of La Cienega, New Mexico
|
|
 La Cienega, New Mexico
Location in the United States
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Santa Fe |
| Area | |
| • Total | 11.66 sq mi (30.20 km2) |
| • Land | 11.66 sq mi (30.20 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,158 ft (1,877 m) |
| Population
(2020)
|
|
| • Total | 3,885 |
| • Density | 333.16/sq mi (128.64/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| Area code(s) | 505 |
| FIPS code | 35-36720 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2408502 |
| Website | La Cienega Valley Association |
La Cienega is a small community in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It's a special kind of place called a census-designated place (CDP). This means it's a community that the government counts for population, but it's not officially a city or town.
La Cienega is part of the larger Santa Fe, New Mexico, area. In 2020, about 3,885 people lived there. This area has a long history. It was once home to a Keres pueblo, which was a village of Native American people. This pueblo even took part in the Pueblo Revolt in 1680.
Contents
Geography and Nature
La Cienega covers an area of about 11.66 square miles (30.2 square kilometers). All of this area is land.
Just a few miles west of La Cienega, you can find a historical marker. It shows where the southern end of the Rocky Mountains is located.
Wetlands and Water Sources
The name "La Cienega" is Spanish for "the marsh" or "the wet meadow." This name is very important because it refers to a special natural spring and marshland in the area. This marsh, called a cienega, provides water to several important places. It feeds El Rancho de las Golondrinas, which is a historic ranch and living history museum. It also supplies water to the Santa Fe River Canyon.
The Santa Fe Botanical Garden helps manage and protect this special marsh. It's known as the Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve. Because of its importance, La Cienega is considered an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. People are working hard to protect this area and create a natural open space corridor. This corridor would connect Santa Fe with the Rio Grande river.
Community and People
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 2020 | 3,885 | — | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2000, there were 3,007 people living in La Cienega. There were 1,033 households, which are groups of people living together in one home. Many of these households (44.9%) had children under 18 living with them.
The community is diverse. About 70.80% of the people identified as Hispanic or Latino. The average age of people in La Cienega was 32 years old. This shows it's a community with many young families and working adults.
Education for Students
Students in La Cienega attend schools that are part of the Santa Fe Public Schools district.
Younger students (Kindergarten through 8th grade) might go to Nina Otero Community School. Other elementary students attend Amy Biehl Elementary School, and middle schoolers go to Milagro Middle School.
For high school, students from La Cienega attend either Santa Fe High School or Capital High School. The school district sometimes adjusts the boundaries to make sure all students have a good school to attend.
See also
In Spanish: La Ciénega para niños
