Monument, New Mexico
5 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Hobbs census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88265. The Survey maps it on the Monument South quadrangle. 213 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,602 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresMonument grew from 206 to 213 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 | 206 | |
| 2020 | 213 | +7 (+3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 5 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.
- 1954 USGS Hobbs quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Hobbs quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Monument quadrangle1:62500
- 1985 USGS Monument South quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
24 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Monument between 1993 and 2018, burning about 2,826 acres in total. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | APACHE 2 |
| 19 August 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | AIRPORT |
| 5 July 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 acres | Capitan District | MADDOX |
| 9 June 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | LINAM |
| 6 May 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | MCNEIL |
| 5 May 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | 81 COMMAND |
| 24 May 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | PIPELINE |
| 19 May 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | SANDOVAL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 19 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Monument: 18 unknowns, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Sulfur, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobbs Natural Gas Plant | Sulfur | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Clay Pit | Clay | Unknown | ||
| Un. Grav. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Un. Grav. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Un. Grav. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Un. Grav. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Un. Grav. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Un. Grav. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Un. Grav. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Un. Grav. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
19 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Monument in 19 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 8 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 1 flood. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Monument | $250,000 | A coolant building at Xcel Energy Cunningham Plant was significantly damaged. The estimated wind speed was 130 mph. Property damage cost is an estimation. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Monument | $250,000 | Approximately 14 larger transmission poles down from Xcel Energy Cunningham Plant and extending 1.2 miles east. Poles were reportedly broken from near the ground to mid-pole. The estimated wind speeds were 125 mph. Property damage cost is an estimation. |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Monument | $40,000 | A thunderstorm moved across Lea County and produced downburst winds in Monument. A mobile home trailer was overturned near the intersection of NM8 and NM42 in Monument. The winds were estimated to have gusted to 50 mph. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate. |
| May 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Monument | $25,000 | A roof was blown off a small retail building into a parking lot. The estimated wind speed was 125 MPH. Property damage cost is an estimation. |
| May 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Monument | $25,000 | A thunderstorm produced wind damage five miles north of Monument, NM. Trees were uprooted or snapped and a roof was blown off. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate. |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Monument | $2,000 | no account filed |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | Monument | $1,000 | Heavy rain fell across Lea County and produced flash flooding. Highway 8 between Hobbs and Eunice has been closed due to high water. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate. |
| September 2014 | Flood | Monument | $1,000 | Heavy rain fell across Lea County and produced flooding. Highways 176 and 248 were closed due to this flooding. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate. |
| March 2017 | Hail | Monument | $500 | A thunderstorm moved across Lea County and produced hail damage near Monument. A windshield was significantly cracked by the hail. The cost of damage is a rough estimate. |
| September 2014 | Flash Flood | Monument | $400 | Heavy rain fell across Lea County and produced flash flooding. State Highway 483 was closed between Hobbs and Lovington. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Monument | - | A member of the public shared a photo on Facebook with ping pong ball size hail shown. |
| June 2005 | Hail | Monument | - | The public reported pea to quarter size hail in Monument. |
| September 2004 | Flash Flood | Monument | - | A prolonged period of widespread heavy rainfall began over the plains of southeastern New Mexico late on Saturday the 25th. By the early hours of Sunday the 26th, extensive flash flooding was occurring in Lea County. At 02:30 MST high water was reported flowing over State Highway 483 seven miles south of Lovington. Additional flash flooding occurred along a corridor from Lovington to Monument through early Monday the 27th. Before daybreak Sunday morning, flash flooding caused high water to inundate State Highway 8, four miles north of Monument. A swollen draw near monument also produced flash flooding that covered several secondary roadways with flowing water.Showers and thunderstorms continued to move northwest over Lea County during the afternoon and early evening hours. Numerous roads and highways in the vicinity of Lovington were affected by flash flooding by 20:00 MST. Flood waters submerged U.S. Highway 82 from Lovington to three miles west of the city. A short-lived break in convective activity occurred during the late evening. Flash flooding continued, however, as runoff maintained flash flooding conditions over U.S. Highway 82 near Lovington.Bands of showers and thunderstorms redeveloped by midnight MST over southern and central Lea County. This activity aggravated the flash flooding near Lovington along U.S. Highway 82 and caused additional flash flooding that affected several secondary roadways.Moderate to occasionally heavy rainfall continued over central Lea County through early morning on Monday the 27th. At 12:00 MST local officials reported that U.S. Highway 82 west of Lovington remained closed due to flowing water. Flooding there receded by mid afternoon Monday. |
| June 2003 | Hail | Monument | - | Widespread severe thunderstorms across West Texas during the afternoon and early evening of the 13th resulted in an outflow boundary which moved across parts of the southeast New Mexico plains. Linear strong to severe thunderstorms developed along the boundary by mid evening. One of the stronger storms in the line resulted in large hail near Monument. |
| June 1999 | Flash Flood | Monument | - | Flash flooding occurred on State Highway 8 near Monument. The initial cell that rained on the area formed along the Texas state line and moved to the NNW. Near Monument this cell merged with other cells to produce torrential rains for a short period. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Monument | - | These two storms formed along the dry line and were both multicell severe storms. |
| September 1995 | Hail | Monument | - | A thunderstorm that formed in Chaves County moved into west-central Lea County moving to the southeast. This storm had several reports of large hail and damaging winds during its life in Southeast New Mexico and the Permian Basin in Texas. While in Lea County penny-size hail was reported 15 miles west of Lovington and later at Monument. 70 mph winds were reported west of Lovington as well. This storm was a classic supercell for much of its life. The storm continued on southeast track across the stateline heading toward Midland. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Monument | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Monument | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warren | 6.3 miles | 5 | |
| Arkansas Junction | 6.8 miles | 5 | |
| Nadine | 7.3 miles | 5 | |
| Oil Center | 8.6 miles | 7 | |
| Hobbs | 8.7 miles | 5 | |
| Air Base City | 10.7 miles | 7 | |
| Humble City | 12.0 miles | 7 | |
| Jones City | 12.9 miles | 6 |
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 Monument | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q6022902 | 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 899801. 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.



