Southeast New Mexico
Much of southeast New Mexico is an extension of the Great Plains, but it has some rugged mountains and a severe desert in the middle of which lie White Sands National Monument and the White Sands Missile Range. Mountain ranges include the Sacramento east of Alamogordo and the Guadalupe Mountains, in which are located Carlsbad Caverns.
The plains part of this region are devoted to cattle, potash, and oil. Like the other plains regions of New Mexico, the heritage passed on from the great cattle empires of bygone days is very strong and detectable in the people. Since the early 1930’s, oil has come to play an increasingly important part in the history of this section. This is especially true near Hobbs.
(Forest Service, U.S.D.A.)
Anyone for a hike?... in the Guadalupe Mountains
The desert region in the western part of this section has clearly defined aspects of the old and the new. The southern part of the dread Jornado del Muerto swept across this arid land and only returned to the river near modern Hatch, or sometimes farther south, near modern Las Cruces, according to the whim of the river. Here also lies the White Sands National Monument, a desert spot of unusual beauty and interest. Near the Monument, the White Sands Missile Range stands as an advanced scientific test center for the most modern of vehicles, the rocket. Near Alamogordo, another advanced space development and testing facility is located at Holloman Air Force Base. So the desert is useful, and it is beautiful, and it is full of tragic history.
This is also Indian land. East of Tularosa is the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation. In a way, this region has always belonged to the Apache, at least since he migrated into New Mexico. The area contained no sedentary groups and the Apache appropriated it as his own. His strongholds were in the Guadalupe and Sacramento mountains. The forts along the Rio Grande, like Forts Fillmore and Selden, were located to control the Mescalero and other Apache groups. All that remains today are the Mescaleros.
There was little Spanish influence in this area except near El Paso and in the Rio Grande Valley. The Spanish were more attracted to the upper Rio Grande Valley because of the sedentary nature of the Indians of that region. The southeast underwent its greatest development in the American period.
Again, sense the mosaic: These are not blends of land and history; they are sharp and distinct, each with its own character. Search for the history and the beauty, for they do not come automatically.