Tularosa, New Mexico
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1916 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Tularosa census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88352. It lies in Tularosa Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Tularosa quadrangle. 2,553 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,508 feet above sea level.
On record in Tularosa
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
Tularosa Original Townsite Districtlisted 1979
Population over time
3 figuresTularosa fell from 2,864 to 2,553 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2,864 | |
| 2010 | 2,842 | -22 (-1%) |
| 2020 | 2,553 | -289 (-10%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 13 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.
- 1916 USGS Tularosa quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Tularosa quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Tucson Spring quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Tularosa quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Tularosa quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS Tularosa quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1982 USGS Tularosa 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 Tularosa between 1993 and 2018, burning about 100 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 July 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Capitan District | RAILROAD PECAN |
| 17 July 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Las Cruces Field Office | ROAD |
| 1 July 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | BRUSH |
| 3 June 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.5 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | VIRDEN WEST |
| 28 June 2010 | Natural | 25 acres | Las Cruces Field Office | VIRDEN |
| 25 June 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | MONEY |
| 25 June 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | FIRECRACKER |
| 2 June 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 21 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | PRAIRIE TRAIL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Tularosa: 2 unknowns. None of them 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Hwy Pit No. 57-38-S | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| State Hwy Pit No. 58-103-S | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
28 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Tularosa in 28 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 12 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 7 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. 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 2008 | Hail | Tularosa | $2,500,000 | Hail from quarter to golf ball size, with occasional hail stones the size of tennis balls accumulated to about 3 inches in the Tularosa area. The hail was driven by wind gusts up to 80 mph, and broke windows, damaged roofs and sidings to more than 500 homes in Tularosa. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | $360,000 | A wet microburst estimated at 80 mph destroyed a double wide mobile home, flipped several others, unroofed a few homes, and blew down several trees, power poles and power lines. |
| September 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | $5,000 | The White Sands Missile Range site at Tula recorded a peak gust of 78 mph. Another site at the Tula Airstrip recorded a peak gust of 73 mph but could have been higher as comms were cut-off prior to storms arrival. The tower was bent by winds about 30 degrees. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | $500 | Winds blew a fence down in Tularosa. An inch of rain also fell in about 20 minutes with the storm. |
| June 2025 | Flash Flood | Tularosa | - | White Sands Missile Range personnel reported flooding around the intersection of Range Route 6 and 9 with roads impassable in places. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | - | The Rita Mesonet site on the White Sands Missile Range recorded a peak gust of 61 mph. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | - | The Tula Mesonet site on the White Sands Missile Range recorded a peak gust of 62 mph. |
| July 2025 | Flash Flood | Tularosa | - | Flash flooding was reported on Tularosa Creek above Bridal Falls. Debris-laden flow flooded backyards. Crosscreek Road low water crossing dangerously flooded. |
| July 2025 | Flash Flood | Tularosa | - | Flash flooding started near Bent with arroyo flooding on Mauer Drive. An arroyo bank was cut with edge of embankment moved 14 feet closer to a home. There was also culvert and road damage along Round Mountain Road. Further west, flash flooding was noted along Tularosa Creek above Bridal Falls. Flooding extended into into a backyard and crawl space of a house with an artificial pond washed out about 4 miles east of Tularosa. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Tularosa | - | One inch hail reported 4 miles east of Tularosa. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | - | The White Sands Missile Range station 28(Tula) reported a peak wind gust of 66 mph. Station 25, also on the missile range reported a peak gust of 58 mph. |
| August 2022 | Flash Flood | Tularosa | - | A spotter posted a photo of their property flooding with an estimated water depth of 6 inches at it's crest. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | - | Reported at Tula Mesonet site on the White Sands Missile Range. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | - | Recorded at the Salt Creek Mesonet site on the White Sands Missile Range. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | - | Mesonet station on White Sands Missile Range. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | - | Storm moved south across the White Sands Missile Range. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | - | A White Sands Missile Range site located 9 miles west of Tularosa recorded a 60 mph gust. |
| April 2017 | Hail | Tularosa | - | Hail damage was reported to vehicle windshields on Highway 54 around mile marker 76. |
| April 2017 | Flash Flood | Tularosa | - | Submerged vehicle reported in low water crossing just northwest of Tularosa on Railroad Avenue in a low water crossing. |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Tularosa | - | Water was crossing Riata Road west of U.S. 54. Rain had fallen several hours earlier up near La Luz and flowed down toward Alamogordo. |
| September 2014 | Flash Flood | Tularosa | - | Flash flooding was reported around the Riata Road area west of Tularosa where water was crossing the road. Drainage ditches along Highway 54 were also filling up. |
| May 2012 | Hail | Tularosa | - | Up to half dollar size hail was reported just northeast of Tularosa. |
| July 2012 | Heavy Rain | Tularosa | - | A weather spotter from Tularosa, NM reported .50 inches of heavy rain in 30 minutes time. This spotter also recorded a 40 mph thunderstorm wind gust from the thunderstorm that passed over the area. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tularosa | - | no account filed |
| October 2015 | Hail | Tularosa | - | no account filed |
| September 2011 | Hail | Tularosa | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Tularosa | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Tularosa | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alamorosa | 4.9 miles | 9 | |
| Kearney | 6.5 miles | 12 | |
| La Luz | 7.8 miles | 12 | |
| Bent | 10.4 miles | 10 | |
| Salinas | 11.3 miles | 13 | |
| Alamogordo | 12.4 miles | 12 | |
| High Rolls | 12.9 miles | 11 | |
| Mountain Park | 13.3 miles | 11 |
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 Tularosa | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2653709 | 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 899964. 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.






