Eastern New Mexico is a physiographic subregion within the U.S. state of New Mexico . The region is sometimes called the " High Plains ", or "Eastern Plains (of New Mexico)", and was historically referred to as part of the " Great American Desert ". The region is largely coterminous with the portion of the Llano Estacado in New Mexico. Portions of Eastern New Mexico's elevation extend to over 4,000 ft (1,200 m). The region is characterized by flat, largely featureless terrain with the exception of the Pecos River valley and the abrupt breaks along the Mescalero Ridge and northern caprock escarpments of the Llano Estacado . The region typically lacks the high relief of central and northern New Mexico, such as that in the Sangre de Cristo and Sandia mountain ranges. The climate is semi-arid with hot summers and is characterized by significant wind and dust storms in the springtime.
26-555: Like much of the Llano Estacado region, Eastern New Mexico is largely rural and agricultural, and resembles West Texas in geography, economy, and demographics. The population is sparse as compared to the rest of the country. The region includes portions of the counties of Curry , De Baca , Guadalupe , Lea , Quay , and Roosevelt . It is served by Eastern New Mexico University , a state university located in Portales , and
52-553: A Democrat for president since 1948 . The Rolling Plains to the east remained Democratic substantially longer: although Walter Mondale 's 1984 campaign lost Texas by 27.50%, he won three counties in this region. Since 2000, this region swung very rapidly toward the Republican Party due to its population's intransigent opposition to the liberal social policies of the Democratic Party, and by 2016, it had nearly
78-457: A household in the county was $ 34,036, and the median income for a family was $ 37,017. Males had a median income of $ 33,223 versus $ 21,846 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 15,916. About 13.90% of families and 16.40% of the population were below the poverty line , including 20.20% of those under age 18 and 12.70% of those age 65 or over. The Andrews Independent School District serves all of Andrews County. The whole county
104-637: Is named for Richard Andrews , a soldier of the Texas Revolution . Along with the rest of Texas, Andrews County was: In 1876, the Texas Legislature repealed the constitution of 1869 replacing it with the current constitution and established Andrews County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has an area of 1,501 square miles (3,890 km ), of which essentially all is land although 0.4 square miles (1.0 km ) (0.02%) are water. The county contains many playa lakes ,
130-539: Is owned by the United States federal government and is used for Department of Energy and other federal waste. The company employs 130 people or about 1% of the total labor force in Andrews and Andrews County. For years, there has been a simmering dispute over which state these waste sites are lawfully a part of: Texas or New Mexico? The straight north–south border between the two states was originally defined as
156-611: The Blackwater Draw archaeological site is located there. The largest cities in Eastern New Mexico are: This New Mexico state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas , generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls , Abilene , and Del Rio . No consensus exists on
182-706: The Brazos River . Use of a single line, though, seems to preclude the use of other separators, such as an area— Central Texas . Texas is part of the American South and the American Southwest at the same time, while the semiarid and desert climates of West Texas are clearly characteristic of the American Southwest . West Texas is often subdivided according to distinct physiographic features. The portion of West Texas that lies west of
208-658: The Pecos River is often called "Far West Texas" or the " Trans-Pecos ", a term introduced in 1887 by geologist Robert T. Hill . The Trans-Pecos lies within the Chihuahuan Desert and is the aridest part of the state. Another part of West Texas is the Llano Estacado , a vast region of high, level plains extending into Eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle . East of the Llano Estacado lies
234-614: The Permian Basin , the highest producing oil field in the United States. This likely inclines the region to support the Republican Party over the Democratic Party , as the latter supports environmentalism and action on climate change . Several counties in the Midland-Odessa area were some of the first parts of Texas to abandon the state's " Solid South " Democratic roots; two counties have not supported
260-590: The TCEQ in 2009. The permit allows for disposal of radioactive materials such as uranium, plutonium and thorium from commercial power plants, academic institutions and medical schools. The company finished construction on the project in 2011 and began disposing of waste in 2012. There are two radioactive waste landfills at the site. The 30-acre compact site is owned and regulated by the State of Texas for use by Texas, Vermont, and up to 36 other states. The 90-acre federal site
286-1069: The Texas Tech Red Raiders , and the UTEP Miners . NCAA Division II teams include the West Texas A&;M Buffaloes , the Texas–Permian Basin Falcons , and the Lubbock Christian Chaparrals and Lady Chaps . El Paso hosts the El Paso Chihuahuas , a AAA baseball team, and the El Paso Locomotive FC which plays in the USL Championship , the second tier of the American soccer pyramid . The Midland RockHounds and Amarillo Sod Poodles represent
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#1732776725609312-506: The census of 2000, there were 13,004 people, 4,601 households, and 3,519 families living in the county. The population density was 9 people per square mile (3.5 people/km ). There were 5,400 housing units at an average density of 4 units per square mile (1.5/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 77.08% White , 1.65% Black or African American , 0.88% Native American , 0.71% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 16.79% from other races , and 2.87% from two or more races. 40.00% of
338-563: The defense industry . West Texas has become notable for its numerous wind turbines producing clean and alternative electricity . As of 2018, the West Texan economy was in a prosperous economic period , which has been described as the "West Texas oil boom". While there are no major league teams in the West Texas region, sports fans are faithful to their local high school and college teams. NCAA Division I college teams include
364-552: The 103rd meridian, but the 1859 survey that was supposed to mark that boundary mistakenly set the border between 2.29 and 3.77 miles too far west of that line, making the Waste Control Specialists waste sites, which are west of the 103rd meridian, along with the current towns of Farwell , Texline , and part of Glenrio , appear to be within the State of Texas . New Mexico's short border with Oklahoma, in contrast,
390-571: The area are irrigated with water from underground sources, such as the Ogallala Aquifer . Irrigation withdrawal, and water taken out farther north for the needs of El Paso and Juarez, Mexico , have reduced the Rio Grande to a stream in some places, even dry at times. Parts of West Texas have rugged terrain, including many small mountain ranges, while most parts of the state are closer to sea level. The northern parts of West Texas and
416-402: The boundary between East Texas and West Texas. While most Texans understand these terms, no boundaries are officially recognized and any two people are likely to describe the boundaries of these regions differently. The historian and geographer Walter Prescott Webb has suggested that the 98th meridian separates East and West Texas; writer A.C. Greene proposed that West Texas extends west of
442-1677: The higher elevations of the mountain ranges of the Trans-Pecos region are prone to occasional heavy snowfall during winter, whereas snow is less common in other areas of West Texas. The 72 counties of West Texas are Andrews , Bailey , Borden , Brewster , Brown , Callahan , Castro , Cochran , Coke , Coleman , Comanche , Concho , Crane , Crockett , Crosby , Culberson , Dawson , Deaf Smith , Dickens , Eastland , Ector , El Paso , Fisher , Floyd , Gaines , Garza , Glasscock , Hale , Haskell , Hockley , Howard , Hudspeth , Irion , Jeff Davis , Jones , Kent , Kimble , King , Knox , Lamb , Loving , Lubbock , Lynn , Martin , Mason , McCulloch , Menard , Midland , Mitchell , Motley , Nolan , Pecos , Presidio , Reagan , Reeves , Runnels , Schleicher , Scurry , Shackelford , Stephens , Sterling , Stonewall , Sutton , Taylor , Terrell , Terry , Throckmorton , Tom Green , Upton , Ward , Winkler , and Yoakum . Smaller West Texas cities and towns include Alpine , Andrews , Anthony , Brownfield , Canutillo , Coyanosa , Crane , Fabens , Fort Davis , Fort Stockton , Hale Center , Horizon City , Iraan , Kermit , Lamesa , Levelland , Littlefield , Marathon , Marfa , McCamey , Mertzon , Monahans , Ozona , Pecos , Post , Rankin , Ransom Canyon , San Elizario , Seminole , Slaton , Snyder , Sweetwater , and Van Horn . Major industries include livestock , petroleum and natural gas production, textiles such as cotton , grain , and because of very large military installations such as Fort Bliss ,
468-471: The movie was filmed there. Andrews County, Texas Andrews County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas . It is in West Texas and its county seat is Andrews . As of the 2020 census , the population was 18,610. The Andrews Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Andrews County. Andrews county was created August 21, 1876, from Tom Green County and organized in 1910. It
494-436: The population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,601 households, out of which 40.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.70% were married couples living together, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.50% were non-families. 21.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
520-626: The region in double-A baseball. Junior hockey is also present in the region, with the Odessa Jackalopes of the Tier II North American Hockey League. Except for the Trans-Pecos region, West Texas has become well known as a stronghold for conservative politics. Some of the most heavily Republican counties in the United States are in the region. Former U.S. President George W. Bush spent most of his childhood in West Texas. The region includes much of
546-587: The same Cook PVI as the Panhandle. "West of the Pecos" has become a metaphor for the universe of Westerns . "Fastest draw west of the Pecos" and similar superlatives are a cliche, and the title character of Chisum observed "There’s no law west of Dodge, and no God west of the Pecos”. Cormac McCarthy 's novel No Country for Old Men and its subsequent film adaptation take place in West Texas, and much of
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#1732776725609572-482: The strip is included in Texas land surveys and the waste sites for all purposes are taxed and governed by Andrews County and The State of Texas . As of the census of 2010 , there were 14,786 people living in the county. 79.5% were White , 1.5% Black or African American , 1.0% Native American , 0.6% Asian , 15.5% of some other race and 2.0% of two or more races . 48.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). As of
598-456: The two largest being Baird lake and Shafter Lake. In the west part of Andrews County on the border with New Mexico (see the state border issue below), a private company, Waste Control Specialists (WCS), formerly owned by the late Harold Simmons and headquartered in Dallas, Texas , operates a 14,000 acres (57 km ) site. The company was awarded a license to dispose of radioactive waste by
624-541: The “ redbed country ” of the Rolling Plains , and south of the Llano Estacado lies the Edwards Plateau . The Rolling Plains and Edwards Plateau subregions act as transitional zones between eastern and western Texas. West Texas receives much less rainfall than the rest of Texas and has an arid or semiarid climate, requiring most of its scant agriculture to depend heavily on irrigation. Northern portions of
650-400: Was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.29. In the county, the population was spread out, with 31.50% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males. The median income for
676-493: Was surveyed on the correct meridian. New Mexico's draft constitution in 1910 stated that the border is on the 103rd meridian as intended. The disputed strip, hundreds of miles long, includes parts of valuable oilfields of the Permian Basin . A bill was passed in the New Mexico Senate to fund and file a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court to recover the strip from Texas, but the bill did not become law. Today, land in
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