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Seneca, New Mexico

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1998. It stands in the Clayton North census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88415. The Survey maps it on the Seneca quadrangle. It stands 4,990 feet above sea level.

Seneca within Union County

On record in Seneca

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 1 record

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 9 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 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Seneca between 2006 and 2020, burning about 594 acres in total. 5 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
Natural5
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
7 September 2019Natural16 acresCimarron District20-20460233X
22 September 2016Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCibola National ForestSENECA
10 July 2011Natural45 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionKEZER
26 June 2020Natural3.6 acresCibola National ForestSENECA
22 June 2020Natural29 acresOklahoma Division of ForestryFA - OKLAHOMA LINE
20 May 2006Natural500 acresCibola National ForestRABBIT

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Union County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Seneca: 2 unknowns, 1 producer. 1 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Union County

Storms near this place

22 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Seneca in 22 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 16 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. 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
June 2023HailSeneca$10,000Ping pong size hail was reported to have broken one window and several west facing vehicle windshields.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindSeneca$1,000Combination of strong wind gusts and hail broke windows at home in Seneca.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindSeneca-The Union County emergency manager estimated 50 to 60 mph wind gusts at Clayton Lake State Park from a severe thunderstorm.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindSeneca-A trained spotter estimated 60 mph wind gusts along with lots of blowing dust kicked up ahead of a severe thunderstorm. The blowing dust resulted in reduced visibility at his location.
June 2023Funnel CloudSeneca-A funnel cloud was observed north of Clayton near Rabbit Ears Mountain.
September 2021HailSeneca-A trained spotter near Seneca reported quarter size hail from a severe thunderstorm tracking southward through the area.
May 2019HailSeneca-Quarter size hail reported at Clayton Lake.
June 2019HailSeneca-Quarter size hail reported in Seneca.
August 2017HailSeneca-Hail up to the size of pennies in Seneca.
May 2017HailSeneca-Hail up to the size of quarters near Seneca.
April 2016HailSeneca-Hail ranged from quarters to half dollar size near Seneca.
May 2016HailSeneca-Quarter size hail.
August 2016HailSeneca-Nickel size hail east of Seneca.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindSeneca-Spotter reported a severe wind gust moved through the area with a thunderstorm on the 3rd.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindSeneca-Thunderstorm with pea size hail and high winds blew down fencing at coop observer residence.
June 2009HailSeneca-no account filed
May 2006HailSeneca-no account filed
August 2006HailSeneca-no account filed
July 2005HailSeneca-no account filed
May 2003HailSeneca-no account filed
September 1998HailSeneca-no account filed
September 1998HailSeneca-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
Old Moses4.6 miles9
McNees Crossing5.5 miles9
Moses6.8 miles9
Atencio9.9 miles8
Clayton12.6 miles8
Royce13.9 miles9
Cuates (historical)15.1 miles8
Mount Dora20.6 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 SenecaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q14706105The 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 910940. 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.