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Des Moines, New Mexico

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Clayton North census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88418. It lies near Dunchee Hill. The Survey maps it on the Des Moines quadrangle. 117 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 6,647 feet above sea level.

Des Moines within Union County

Population over time

3 figures

Des Moines fell from 143 to 117 between 2000 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.

YearPeople Change
2000143
20101430 (0%)
2020117-26 (-18%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

6 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Des Moines between 1995 and 2018, burning about 91 acres in total. 3 started naturally. None was 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
Natural3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
3 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionGRANDE
25 July 2011Natural2.5 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionSIERRA GRANDE
24 July 2016Naturalunder an acreCimarron DistrictSIERRA GRANDE
20 July 2017Natural1.0 acresCimarron DistrictSIERRA GRANDE
12 April 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCimarron DistrictDES MOINES
20 December 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined67 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionBRIGGS

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Union County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 13 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Des Moines: 9 unknowns, 4 producers. 4 still produce. 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Colomex PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Colorado & Southern Ballast PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
M-19204 PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Pit #58 109 FSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Union County

Storms near this place

38 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Des Moines in 38 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 33 hail, 2 funnel cloud, 2 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2023HailDes Moines$5,000,000Hail damage to cars and downed tree limbs reported via mping. Damage reported is an estimate.
May 1994HailDes Moines$50,000A severe thunderstorm in Union county produced hail up to ping-pong ball-size. Windows were broken out of several homes along with damage to roofs and sidings. Hail accumulated to a depth of four to five inches with some drifts nearly a foot deep.
August 2015HailDes Moines$7,000Spotter reported notable vehicle dent damage due to the golf ball size hail.
August 2013Flash FloodDes Moines$5,000Damage reported to several trees, some fence, and sections of Ridge Road near Travecere Road from flash flooding on nearby Travecere Creek.
August 2023HailDes Moines$1,000A home window was knocked out by copious amounts of golf ball size hail.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindDes Moines$500A tree fell onto a home and broke a window.
May 2025HailDes Moines-Pea to penny sized hail was observed in Des Moines. Report relayed from a broadcast station based out of Amarillo.
July 2025HailDes Moines-Quarter to ping pong ball size hail with accumulation of dime to nickel size hail on roadways. Location estimated via radar.
May 2023HailDes Moines-Four to six inches of hail accumulation with drifts of three to four feet.
June 2023HailDes Moines-Ping pong ball sized hail fell on the east side of Des Moines as a supercell moved east.
June 2023HailDes Moines-Quarter sized hail fell on the west side of Des Moines as a supercell moved through.
June 2023HailDes Moines-Quarter sized hail fell as a supercell moved east across northern Union County.
June 2018HailDes Moines-Hail up to the size of nickels along U.S. Highway 87.
June 2018HailDes Moines-Hail up to the size of ping pong balls fell a few miles northwest of Des Moines.
May 2017HailDes Moines-Hail up to the size of quarters near Des Moines.
May 2015Funnel CloudDes Moines-Numerous reports of a funnel cloud were received with a strong thunderstorm near Des Moines.
June 2015HailDes Moines-NSSL Shave reported quarter size hail in Des Moines.
June 2015HailDes Moines-Trained spotter reported 2 inches of nickel to quarter size hail fell near Des Moines.
June 2015HailDes Moines-Trained spotter reported dime to ping pong size hail fell in Des Moines.
August 2015HailDes Moines-Pea to quarter size hail with 50 mph estimated wind gusts.
June 2014HailDes Moines-Quarter to penny size hail reported by trained spotter.
August 2013HailDes Moines-Penny size hail 20 miles northeast of Des Moines.
August 2009HailDes Moines-The hail lasted for 10 minutes and covered the ground.
July 2009Flash FloodDes Moines-Eight to 10 inches of water was running over State Highway 456 between mile markers 16 and 30. Cars were submerged in the water and mud and had to be pulled out near mile marker 25.
May 1994HailDes Moines-A severe thunderstorm in Union county produced hail up to ping-pong ball-size. Windows were broken out of several homes along with damage to roofs and sidings. Hail accumulated to a depth of four to five inches with some drifts nearly a foot deep.
August 1993HailDes Moines-Nickel-size hail was reported by a spotter and relayed through a local TV station.
July 2023HailDes Moines-no account filed
July 2023HailDes Moines-no account filed
September 2017HailDes Moines-no account filed
August 2008HailDes Moines-no account filed
May 2005Funnel CloudDes Moines-no account filed
July 2005HailDes Moines-no account filed
June 2004HailDes Moines-no account filed
July 2004HailDes Moines-no account filed
June 2004HailDes Moines-no account filed
June 2003HailDes Moines-no account filed
August 2002HailDes Moines-no account filed
July 2000HailDes Moines-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Union County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Grande7.0 miles8
Folsom7.3 miles9
Madison (historical)8.5 miles8
Capulin8.6 miles8
Willow Springs (historical)13.9 miles8
Emery Gap (historical)16.3 miles8
Grenville16.4 miles8
Corrumpa (historical)17.4 miles8

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 Des MoinesAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1200461The 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 899607. 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.