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Tucumcari, New Mexico

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1930 and the latest in 1967. It stands in the Tucumcari census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88401. The Survey maps it on the Tucumcari quadrangle. 5,278 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,091 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Tucumcari within Quay County

On record in Tucumcari

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 6 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 1 record

Population over time

3 figures

Tucumcari fell from 5,989 to 5,278 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
20005,989
20105,363-626 (-10%)
20205,278-85 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 6 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.

Photographs

1 photograph,

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.

Baca-Goodman House, Third & Aber Streets, Tucumcari, Quay County, NM
Baca-Goodman House, Third & Aber Streets, Tucumcari, Quay County, NM
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

18 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 18 fires within 5 miles of Tucumcari between 1996 and 2020, burning about 2,804 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/undetermined10
Equipment and vehicle use4
Debris and open burning2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Fireworks1

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
20 July 2000Debris and open burning15 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionWALLY
28 June 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreLas Vegas DistrictR . EVETTS
28 June 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionCAMINO
18 June 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionBRADLEY
18 June 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined100 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionWRIGHT
7 May 2020Debris and open burning1.2 acresLas Vegas District20-40600481X
31 May 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionBUG
23 May 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionBLUE WATER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Quay County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Tucumcari: 5 unknowns, 1 producer, 1 occurrence. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Uranium. 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
Strawn ProspectUraniumOccurrence
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Quay County

Storms near this place

60 of 80 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Tucumcari in 80 storm reports between 1994 and 2023: 61 hail, 10 thunderstorm wind, 8 flash flood, 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
May 2023Flash FloodTucumcari$500,000Multiple reports of flash flooding were received via social media during the evening of May 25, 2023. Streets throughout town were flooded, closed, or impassable with vehicles being stranded in some spots. Water was also reported to have reached up to business entrances.
July 2006Flash FloodTucumcari$100,000no account filed
May 1999Thunderstorm WindTucumcari$40,000High winds gusting 60-65 mph in Tucumcari ripped away parts of a motel roof.
August 2008Flash FloodTucumcari$25,000Thunderstorms produced heavy rain which resulted in extensive street flooding in Tucumcari and Logan. Several vehicles became stuck in as much as three feet of water and at least one home was flooded.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindTucumcari$20,000Severe thunderstorms in Quay County produced hail up to quarter size and strong winds which snapped some power poles in town.
May 2008Flash FloodTucumcari$15,000State Road 104 was washed out just south of the Quay-San Miguel County line.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindTucumcari$5,000A cooperative observer reported several power poles downed and a small travel trailer overturned during a strong storm near Tucumcari.
June 2013HailTucumcari$3,000Baseball hail 4 miles north of Tucumcari.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindTucumcari$2,000Strong winds resulted in roof damage to a house.
June 2013HailTucumcari$1,000Baseball hail 3 miles northwest of Tucumcari.
March 2021HailTucumcari-One inch hail was reported with a severe thunderstorm near Tucumcari on the morning of March 13th.
July 2021HailTucumcari-A COOP observer near Tucumcari reported nickel size hail from a strong thunderstorm tracking southwestward through the area.
May 2019HailTucumcari-Quarter size hail reported in Tucumcari.
April 2018Thunderstorm WindTucumcari-A spotter reported a thunderstorm outflow wind gust up to 60 mph along with pea size hail and significant blowing dust.
May 2017HailTucumcari-Hail at least the size of half dollars fell a couple miles southeast of Tucumcari.
May 2016HailTucumcari-Quarter size hail in Tucumcari.
May 2015HailTucumcari-Trained spotter reported quarter size hail.
August 2015HailTucumcari-Dime to penny size hail in Tucumcari. Lightning strike also blew up a transformer.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindTucumcari-Peak gust to 60 mph with dime size hail reported in Tucumcari.
June 2013HailTucumcari-Golf ball hail at NMSU Agricultural Science Center.
June 2013HailTucumcari-Penny hail reported 10 miles east southeast of Tucumcari.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindTucumcari-Trained spotter estimated a wind gust of 60 mph.
August 2013HailTucumcari-Spotter reported pea to quarter size hail.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindTucumcari-Four inch diameter tree limbs were downed.
June 2012HailTucumcari-Nickel size hail reported in Tucumcari.
March 2007HailTucumcari-A burst of hail on the north side of storm core moving over central and eastern Tucumcari.
March 2007HailTucumcari-Hail to 3 inches deep filling ditches and covering the roads on northeast side of Tucumcari. Highway department called out to blade ice from roads.
June 2003Flash FloodTucumcari-Sheriff deputies reported low water crossings flooded and several county roads closed by heavy rain southwest of Tucumcari.
July 1999Flash FloodTucumcari-Heavy rain flooded underpasses and frontage roads along Interstate 40 in Tucumcari. Several cars were trapped between arroyos and then submerged by rising water after being abandoned by the drivers.
May 1995HailTucumcari-Severe thunderstorms in Quay County produced hail up to quarter size and strong winds which snapped some power poles in town.
May 1995HailTucumcari-Severe thunderstorms in Quay County produced hail up to quarter size and strong winds which snapped some power poles in town.
May 1994HailTucumcari-Thunderstorms in far eastern New Mexico produced dime-size hail and excessive rainfall. A heavy band of rain extended from near Field to Texico in Curry County with up to six inches of rain. Major street flooding occurred in both Clovis and Texico. Highways 523 and 18 were closed for the night.
May 2023HailTucumcari-no account filed
May 2023HailTucumcari-no account filed
May 2023HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2014HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2014HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2014HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2014HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2014HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2014HailTucumcari-no account filed
October 2014HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2008HailTucumcari-no account filed
May 2008HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2007Thunderstorm WindTucumcari-no account filed
June 2007HailTucumcari-no account filed
May 2006HailTucumcari-no account filed
July 2005HailTucumcari-no account filed
August 2005HailTucumcari-no account filed
September 2005HailTucumcari-no account filed
September 2005Flash FloodTucumcari-no account filed
August 2004HailTucumcari-no account filed
August 2004Flash FloodTucumcari-no account filed
June 2003HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2003HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2003HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2003HailTucumcari-no account filed
June 2003Funnel CloudTucumcari-no account filed
June 2003HailTucumcari-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindTucumcari-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Quay County

Newspapers printed here

7,159 digitised pages

2 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 718 issues, 7,159 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.

NewspaperPublished
The Tucumcari News1905 to 1907
The Tucumcari News and Tucumcari Times1907 to 1921

What the paper printed

15,583 words

Front pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 9 issues spread across its run from 1905 to 1919, 15,583 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
1905-10-28The Tucumcari News2,002 words
1905-12-09The Tucumcari News1,473 words
1905-12-30The Tucumcari News2,131 words
1906-08-11The Tucumcari News1,672 words
1907-03-16The Tucumcari News and Tucumcari Times1,142 words
1907-06-15The Tucumcari News and Tucumcari Times559 words
1907-08-31The Tucumcari News and Tucumcari Times1,406 words
1907-11-23The Tucumcari News and Tucumcari Times761 words
1919-12-27The Tucumcari News and Tucumcari Times4,437 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
Hargis5.2 miles6
Lesbia7.8 miles6
Frio (historical)9.3 miles6
Hanley (historical)10.4 miles6
Palomas10.6 miles6
Hudson12.0 miles6
Norton16.0 miles6
Quay16.5 miles6

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 TucumcariAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q986001The 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 915909. 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.