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Santa Fe, New Mexico

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 2002. It stands in the Santa Fe census division. It lies in ZIP code area 87501. It stands on Arroyo Saiz. The Survey maps it on the Santa Fe quadrangle. 87,505 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 7,198 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Santa Fe within Santa Fe County

On record in Santa Fe

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 12 of 63 shown

Every listing in Santa Fe County

Surveyed buildings and structures 12 of 18 shown

Every surveyed structure in Santa Fe County

Population over time

2 figures

Santa Fe grew from 67,947 to 87,505 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.

YearPeople Change
201067,947
202087,505+19,558 (+29%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 23 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.

What the histories say of this town

6,487 words

1 chapter about Santa Fe from the published histories of the county, public domain and reproduced complete.

ChapterFrom Length
Santa Fé County: The Heart of New Mexico, Rich in History and ResourceSanta Fé County: The Heart of New Mexico, Rich in History and Resources (1906)6,487 words

Photographs

8 of 47 photographs shown, 2020 to 2021

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

The Station of the Cross at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in which Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
The Station of the Cross at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in which Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
The old Santa Fe Railroad station in Santa Fe, the capital city of the southwest U.S. state of New Mexico, is now (as of 2021) the city's tourism office
The old Santa Fe Railroad station in Santa Fe, the capital city of the southwest U.S. state of New Mexico, is now (as of 2021) the city's tourism office
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Artist Don Kennell's metal-art sculpture, to which he refers as, simply, "Mustang," stands outside the La Puerta Originals store in the New Mexico capital city of Santa Fe
Artist Don Kennell's metal-art sculpture, to which he refers as, simply, "Mustang," stands outside the La Puerta Originals store in the New Mexico capital city of Santa Fe
Highsmith, Carol M, 2021. Library of Congress
When one faces the front of the sanctuary at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico, eyes are drawn to the Lamb of God, angels in proclamation, and a replica of the San Damiano Cross, a large Romanesque rood cross that hung in an abandoned chapel near Assisi in Italy, suspended above the altar
When one faces the front of the sanctuary at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico, eyes are drawn to the Lamb of God, angels in proclamation, and a replica of the San Damiano Cross, a large Romanesque rood cross that hung in an abandoned chapel near Assisi in Italy, suspended above the altar
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Column capitals at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Column capitals at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
The altar screen is the focus of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (El Sagrario), sometimes referred to as the Chapel of Saint Joseph, which stands within at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico
The altar screen is the focus of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (El Sagrario), sometimes referred to as the Chapel of Saint Joseph, which stands within at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
Mosaic on an outer wall of the Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community "worship space" in a neighborhood adjacent to Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, the capital city of the southwest U.S. state of New Mexico
Mosaic on an outer wall of the Santa Maria de la Paz Catholic Community "worship space" in a neighborhood adjacent to Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, the capital city of the southwest U.S. state of New Mexico
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress
This is Ethyl, the 82-foot-long blue whale on the campus of Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, the capital city of the southwest U.S. state of New Mexico
This is Ethyl, the 82-foot-long blue whale on the campus of Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, the capital city of the southwest U.S. state of New Mexico
Highsmith, Carol M, 2020. Library of Congress

Every photograph of Santa Fe County

Fires near this place

74 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 74 fires within 5 miles of Santa Fe between 1994 and 2020, burning about 355 acres in total. 24 started naturally. 2 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/undetermined33
Natural24
Recreation and ceremony4
Debris and open burning3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking2
Arson/incendiarism2
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
7 September 1997Natural2.5 acresSanta Fe National ForestALAMOS
27 September 2011Naturalunder an acreSanta Fe National ForestCORRAL
2 September 2013Naturalunder an acreSanta Fe National ForestLITTLE TESUQUE
7 August 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionPETE
6 August 2019Naturalunder an acreSanta Fe National ForestBARBERIA
5 August 2003Naturalunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionLA TIERRA
17 August 1996Natural12 acresSanta Fe National ForestCORRAL
17 August 1994Natural2.0 acresSanta Fe National Forestnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Santa Fe County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Santa Fe: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Manganese. 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
Santa Fe Manganese DistrictManganesePast Producer1917

Every working recorded in Santa Fe County

Storms near this place

60 of 65 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Santa Fe in 65 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 32 hail, 17 flash flood, 8 lightning, 6 thunderstorm wind. The reports record 2 deaths and 8 injuries. 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
August 1997LightningSanta Fe1 killed, 2 hurtA 41 year old man hiking near the summit of Santa Fe Baldy (12600 ft) was killed by lightning. The man's 12 year old son and another hiker were knocked down by the lightning but only slightly injured.
July 2008Flash FloodSanta Fe1 killed, $25,000Flash flooding struck the northeast part of Santa Fe. Arroyos became torrents and overflowed their banks in some instances. Major street flooding ensued in some locations, especially along Lorenzo Road which saw mud deposited two feet deep. One man drowned when he was swept down an arroyo. An unoccupied automobile was damaged when it was also swept down an arroyo. Flash flooding occurred at the Morales Bridge on the north side of town, and a home was flooded on Circle Dr nearby.
August 2006LightningSanta Fe2 hurtTwo men in their 20s were struck by lightning while standing on rebar rods at a Santa Fe construction site. One man recovered immediately, but the other had to be revived with CPR.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindSanta Fe1 hurt, $1,000no account filed
August 1998LightningSanta Fe1 hurtA 30-year old man was struck by lightning when he left his residence as a thunderstorm faded.
August 1998LightningSanta Fe1 hurtA 44-year old man was resuscitated by coworkers after suffering a near fatal, single lightning strike while working on a church roof.
July 1998Flash FloodSanta Fe1 hurtno account filed
December 2007Thunderstorm WindSanta Fe$100,000Horse stalls, trailers and bleachers were blown over near Rodeo Rd and Richards Ave. A light tower was completely bent over. Truck windows were broken out and a chain link fence was ripped from its posts.
August 1996Flash FloodSanta Fe$90,000no account filed
July 2007Flash FloodSanta Fe$70,000no account filed
July 1996LightningSanta Fe$60,000no account filed
August 2011Flash FloodSanta Fe$50,000Flash flooding was reported in homes on Galisteo Street, within the Forest Circle Street and Calle Torreador subdivisions, Miguel Chaves Road and the Tuscany at St. Francis Apartments. Street flooding was also reported on portions of Cerrillos, St. Francis Dr., and St. Michaels Road.
August 2004Flash FloodSanta Fe$50,000Several vehicles were damaged and a number of rooms at a guest lodge were flooded by mud and debris when a small flash flood formed along Bishop's Lodge Road in eastern Santa Fe.
September 2014Flash FloodSanta Fe$20,000Writer from the Santa Fe newspaper reported that there was damage to E.J. Martinez Elementary School from flash flooding. It was reported that there was damage to 3 classrooms, the gym, and an office.
May 2021HailSanta Fe$10,000A COOP observer near Santa Fe reported penny size hail from a strong thunderstorm. The hail reportedly caused damage and dents to a Santa Fe resident's three cars. Damages are estimated for the dent damage to the three cars.
July 2008Flash FloodSanta Fe$10,000Heavy rain caused major street flooding for the second consecutive evening in northeast Santa Fe. Lorenzo Road had mud deposited nearly 2 feet deep.
August 2015Flash FloodSanta Fe$5,000Public weather station reported 3.35 inches of rainfall in 1 hour near Las Campanas. Video showed flash flood waters flowing quickly over East Sunrise Road northwest of Santa Fe, making it impassable. The water depth was reported to be between 1 and 1.5 feet.
July 2010Flash FloodSanta Fe$5,000Heavy rain caused an awning at the Giant gas station to collapse and fall on three cars at the intersection of Sawmill Rd. and St. Francis Dr.
July 2007Flash FloodSanta Fe$5,000Thunderstorms produced heavy rain which caused street flooding between 1 and 2 feet deep at the intersection of Cerillos Road and Camino Carlos Rey. Cars were stalled in the intersection. A section of Rodeo Road was closed due to flooding. Two homes on the east side of town experienced flooding.
June 1996Thunderstorm WindSanta Fe$5,000no account filed
July 2007LightningSanta Fe$2,000Lightning struck a tree in the yard of a Santa Fe residence. The shock wave from the strike shattered two windows in the house.
August 2014LightningSanta Fe$1,000Santa Fe police reported that a lightning strike downed a power line and started a small brush fire at 1945 Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe. The fire is shown in a YouTube video burning for nearly 10 minutes before fire officials extinguished the blaze.
May 2025HailSanta Fe-Nickel size hail in Santa Fe.
May 2025HailSanta Fe-A trained spotter near the Santa Fe Plaza observed lots of accumulating penny size hail from a strong thunderstorm.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindSanta Fe-Large sycamore tree limbs up to 2 inches in diameter were snapped near the Santa Fe Railyards.
October 2024HailSanta Fe-A line of strong storms dropped penny size hail across Santa Fe.
May 2021Funnel CloudSanta Fe-A funnel cloud from a strong thunderstorm was spotted near the Santa Fe airport. The funnel cloud never touched down, and no damage was reported.
May 2021HailSanta Fe-A COOP observer reported penny size hail from a strong thunderstorm moving north near Santa Fe.
May 2021HailSanta Fe-A CoCoRaHS observer reported one inch hail from a severe thunderstorm northeast of Santa Fe.
July 2021HailSanta Fe-Multiple observers reported one inch hail from a severe thunderstorm near Santa Fe.
June 2019HailSanta Fe-Hail up to the size of quarters in Santa Fe.
June 2019HailSanta Fe-Nickel size hail in Santa Fe.
June 2019HailSanta Fe-Hail up to the size of ping pong balls in downtown Santa Fe.
June 2019Funnel CloudSanta Fe-A well-defined funnel cloud was observed in Santa Fe.
June 2019HailSanta Fe-Quarter size hail in Santa Fe.
July 2018Flash FloodSanta Fe-Flash flooding in the area of Agua Fria and Upper Hills. Roads closed.
July 2018HailSanta Fe-Hail up to the size of pennies was reported in Santa Fe.
July 2015HailSanta Fe-Spotter reported nickel to half dollar size hail southeast of Santa Fe.
July 2015HailSanta Fe-Quarter size hail north of highway 599 three miles west of highway 285.
August 2014Flash FloodSanta Fe-Local Broadcast media shared a photo of a car that was stranded due to flooding at 5th Street and St. Michaels Dr. in Santa Fe. The driver drove into deep water that had accumulated on roadways from short duration, very heavy rainfall.
July 2013LightningSanta Fe-The Santa Fe New Mexican ran story about lightning hitting a large cottonwood tree in the Santa Fe Plaza. The bolt hit the tree and sent branches flying into a nearby crowd of people that were gathered in downtown for weekend festivities. Newspaper reporting that at least one man was injured from flying debris while another had breathing problems for a short time.
August 2011Flash FloodSanta Fe-Santa Fe police reported home evacuations near the intersection of Valmora Road and Serafina Street. Water was reported to be two feet deep and 40 feet wide. Two feet of water was also reported at the intersection of Rodeo Road and Old Pecos Trail. Cars attempting to drive through the water stalled. Two feet of water was also reported to have flooded a home at the Rainbow Vision Condominium Complex at I-25 and St. Francis Dr. Spotters in the area reported between 1 and 1.8 inches of rain in one hours time.
June 2005Flash FloodSanta Fe-Heavy rain caused widespread street flooding in southern Santa Fe.
July 2001HailSanta Fe-Nickel size hail was reported in the Eldorado area.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindSanta Fe-A strong thunderstorm produced copious small hail and gusty winds of near 55 mph which downed several small trees near Santa Fe.
June 1995HailSanta Fe-State Police reported pea- to dime-size hail one to two inches deep covering Interstate 25 and then golf ball-size hail at the race track just southwest of Santa Fe.
June 1995HailSanta Fe-State Police reported pea- to dime-size hail one to two inches deep covering Interstate 25 and then golf ball-size hail at the race track just southwest of Santa Fe.
May 1994HailSanta Fe-A thunderstorm over Santa Fe produced widespread small hail with some stones near ping-pong ball-size which caused damage to several cars.
July 2015HailSanta Fe-no account filed
July 2015HailSanta Fe-no account filed
July 2015HailSanta Fe-no account filed
July 2015HailSanta Fe-no account filed
July 2014HailSanta Fe-no account filed
June 2014HailSanta Fe-no account filed
July 2013HailSanta Fe-no account filed
August 2013HailSanta Fe-no account filed
July 2009HailSanta Fe-no account filed
July 2009HailSanta Fe-no account filed
May 2006HailSanta Fe-no account filed
July 2005HailSanta Fe-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Santa Fe County

Newspapers printed here

8 papers

8 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read. 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.

NewspaperPublished
El Nuevo Mexicano1890 to 1958
The Santa Fe Weekly Gazette1851 to 1854
Santa Fe New Mexican1898 to 1951
New Mexico State Record1914 to 19??
Santa Fe Weekly Gazette185? to 1859
Santa Fe Gazette1859 to 1864
Santa Fe Daily New Mexican1885 to 1897
Santa Fe Weekly Gazette1864 to 1869

What the paper printed

48,507 words

Front pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 20 issues spread across its run from 1852 to 1916, 48,507 words in total. Each is reproduced on its own page, exactly as the recogniser returned it.

These pages read less well than anything else here, and the number is worth stating: about three words in four come through cleanly, against nine in ten for the building records. An 1896 broadsheet sets eight-point type in seven columns on microfilm, which is the hardest thing in this archive to read by machine. We tested our own recognisers against the Library's and they were not better, so the Library's text is what appears, with the wholly unreadable columns removed. Read it as a guide to what the paper covered, and follow the link to the scan before quoting anything.

IssuePaper Length
1898-03-09Santa Fe New Mexican4,112 words
1898-05-23Santa Fe New Mexican1,040 words
1898-08-08Santa Fe New Mexican4,290 words
1898-10-21Santa Fe New Mexican3,505 words
1889-03-14Santa Fe Daily New Mexican842 words
1889-05-28Santa Fe Daily New Mexican934 words
1889-10-23Santa Fe Daily New Mexican1,254 words
1852-11-06The Santa Fe Weekly Gazette3,149 words
1852-12-04The Santa Fe Weekly Gazette4,157 words
1854-07-15The Santa Fe Weekly Gazette3,279 words
1864-09-24Santa Fe Weekly Gazette2,939 words
1869-09-25Santa Fe Weekly Gazette1,387 words
1855-03-24Santa Fe Weekly Gazette1,288 words
1855-11-24Santa Fe Weekly Gazette863 words
1860-09-29Santa Fe Gazette3,705 words
1860-11-03Santa Fe Gazette4,959 words
1864-09-17Santa Fe Gazette225 words
1916-08-18New Mexico State Record2,787 words
1916-10-06New Mexico State Record2,183 words
1916-12-01New Mexico State Record1,609 words

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
Analco (historical)0.4 miles23
Tano Road3.8 miles23
La Loma4.7 miles18
Tres Arroyos4.9 miles20
Agua Fria5.0 miles20
Tesuque5.2 miles19
Las Campanas6.0 miles20
La Tierra6.0 miles20

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 Santa FeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q38555The 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 936823. 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.