Otero

Otero county: Sacramento Mountains

Otero, county, southern New Mexico, U.S., bordered on the south by Texas. The terrain comprises drastic extremes, including elevations to 11,997 feet (3,656 metres) at Sierra Blanca, extensive waterless deserts, and tree-covered mountains. The county lies in the Basin and Range province, with its west in the Highland section. Western Otero county is the wide Tularosa Basin, site of White Sands; north of this desert is a section of the Malpais, a lava bed whitened by drifting sand blown from White Sands. Eastern Otero county is in the Sacramento section, with the Hueco and Cornudas mountain ranges at its southern border, the Guadalupe and Brokeoff ranges in the southeast, and the Sacramento Mountains rising to more than 9,000 feet (2,740 metres) in the north. White Sands National Park, Holloman Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range, and Fort Bliss Military Reservation are in western Otero county. Lincoln National Forest and the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation cover much of eastern Otero county. Parklands include Three Rivers Petroglyph National Recreational Site, the Sunspot Solar Observatory, Oliver Lee State Park, and the Cloudcroft Ski Area.

Mescalero Apache Indians lived in the region from at least the 17th century, warring with Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. soldiers, in succession, until the late 19th century. A Franciscan mission was begun in La Luz in 1719, and permanent settlement increased after the Mexican-American War. The county was established in 1899.

Tourism and recreation, cattle raising, light industry, and government employment, including aerospace research, are the bases of the economy. Alamogordo is the county seat. Area 6,627 square miles (17,164 square km). Pop. (2000) 62,298; (2010) 63,797.