Capitan, New Mexico
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 2004. It stands in the Capitan census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88316. It stands on Magado Creek. The Survey maps it on the Capitan quadrangle. 1,391 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 6,348 feet above sea level.
On record in Capitan
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 2 records
Fort Stanton Administration Buildinglisted 1973
Fort Stanton Historic District (Boundary Increase)listed 2000
Population over time
2 figuresCapitan fell from 1,489 to 1,391 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,489 | |
| 2020 | 1,391 | -98 (-7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 15 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1934 USGS Capitan quadrangle1:48000
- 1934 USGS Capitan quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1937 USGS Capitan quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS Roswell quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Roswell quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Roswell quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Capitan quadrangle1:24000
- 1981 USGS Carrizozo quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 2004 USGS Capitan quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
102 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 102 fires within 5 miles of Capitan between 1992 and 2020, burning about 6,844 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 8 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 18 |
| Natural | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 8 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2000 | Natural | under an acre | Roswell Field Office | EQUESTRIAN |
| 20 September 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | STOKES |
| 15 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | GUNRANGE |
| 13 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | GUN RANGE |
| 3 August 2012 | Natural | 1.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | RAIN DROP |
| 21 August 2011 | Natural | 1.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | GAP |
| 11 August 2011 | Natural | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | BREWER |
| 1 August 2003 | Natural | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | BREWER |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Capitan: 4 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
16 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Capitan in 16 storm reports between 1995 and 2021: 7 hail, 7 flash flood, 1 tornado, 1 lightning. The reports record 2 deaths and 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2015 | Lightning | Capitan | 1 killed, 1 hurt | Kalina Jinzo, a 40-year mother of three, was struck by lightning and killed while traveling from Albuquerque to Ruidoso on a motorcycle on the 15th. Her husband was also struck but his injuries were not life threatening. The woman died several days later in a Lubbock hospital around the 22nd. |
| October 1996 | Flash Flood | Capitan | 1 killed | no account filed |
| September 2014 | Flash Flood | Capitan | $130,000 | Flooding was reported on State Road 246 at mile markers 4,27-29, and 55-56. Pavement was damaged at mile marker 29. The highway was closed from Capitan to Roswell. |
| July 2021 | Flash Flood | Capitan | $30,000 | Heavy rain near Capitan in Lincoln County resulted in the rapid rise of the Magado Creek near the Capitan Fairgrounds. The Magado Creek rose an estimated ten feet which caused the flooding of a low water crossing in the area and temporarily trapping two unoccupied vehicles. No injuries or fatalities were reported. Damages are estimated for the damage to the two vehicles. |
| July 2021 | Flash Flood | Capitan | $20,000 | Video obtained by KOAT TV showed flash flooding in Angus with fast moving water rushing against a home and leaking underneath the doorway. No significant damages are known, and damages are estimated for minor home flood damage. |
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Capitan | $5,000 | Rainfall of 3.8 inches was measured in Capitan in one hour. The heavy rain caused flood waters up to 3 feet deep to flow through some streets in Capitan. Two secondary roads off Highway 380 east of town were washed out as a crest of water raged downstream topping roads near Salado Creek with up to 6 feet of water. |
| June 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Capitan | $5,000 | The tornado touched down at Mile Marker 16 on Highway 246 for 1-2 minutes. Large trees were uprooted and power poles were snapped in half. |
| May 2021 | Hail | Capitan | - | A CoCoRaHS observer near Capitan reported penny size hail from a strong thunderstorm moving northeast through the area. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Capitan | - | Heavy rain caused Oso Creek to overfill its banks and overtop Dawson Road. The Lincoln County emergency manager reported that Dawson Road was flooded for about 20 to 30 minutes. No damages are known. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Capitan | - | Hail up to the size of quarters near Capitan. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Capitan | - | Hail up to the size of quarters near Capitan. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Capitan | - | Hail up to the size of golf balls in Capitan. Heavy rainfall and hail accumulations at Brewer Ranch produced flooding in low lying areas. |
| May 2014 | Hail | Capitan | - | Damage reported to cars and numerous windows shattered in area homes and businesses in Capitan. |
| July 2004 | Flash Flood | Capitan | - | Water was moving too swift over the roadways and around an overpass to allow travel at mile mark 83 on Highway 380. Arroyos were running full also. |
| June 1995 | Hail | Capitan | - | Thunderstorm winds which damaged several roofs and signs in Carrizozo were followed with golf ball-size hail that dimpled vehicles and tattered trees and gardens in Capitan. |
| June 2007 | Hail | Capitan | - | no account filed |
Newspapers printed here
178 digitised pages1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 43 issues, 178 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.
| Newspaper | Published |
|---|---|
| El Farol | 1905 to 19?? |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coalora | 2.0 miles | 15 | |
| Fort Stanton | 4.3 miles | 9 | |
| Double Crossing | 7.1 miles | 14 | |
| Nogal | 7.2 miles | 15 | |
| Vera Cruz (historical) | 8.0 miles | 15 | |
| Angus | 8.5 miles | 11 | |
| Bonito | 9.8 miles | 11 | |
| Lincoln | 10.6 miles | 9 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Capitan | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1034678 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 923574. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.








