In the southeastern part of New Mexico, thirty miles from the Texas border, lies the town of Carlsbad. Carlsbad is principally known for the nearby Carlsbad Caverns, but it is predominantly an oil town, its fortunes rising and falling with the oil industry. There are also quite a few potash mines in the area. Potash is a substance that is used in a variety of things, such as making glass, but it is mainly used in making soap. The word "potassium" is a derivative of "potash." Carlsbad's fortunes are currently on the rise due to the ongoing oil boom. Its population hovered around 24,000 to 25,000 for about 60 years, with the exception of the 1960s when it dropped to around 21,000. The population of Carlsbad is currently
about 29,000.
Carlsbad is a pleasant little town that is an oasis in the desert. There is a small lake in town, Lake Carlsbad, that is the result of a small dam that was built across the Pecos River. There are two more lakes north of town, Avalon and Brantley, that are also the result of dams, much bigger dams, across the Pecos River. The lake in town is basically just a deep and full river channel, resembling what the Pecos River must have looked like in the distant past. It takes a dam to get the river to fill up its channel in this parched corner of the Chihuahuan Desert.
When the Pecos River comes into Carlsbad from the north, it is just a dry channel, having been sucked dry by Avalon Dam upstream and also by the Pecos River Flume, which is considered to be an engineering marvel.
Carlsbad is one of the hottest places in New Mexico, which is typically a high elevation state.
I remember one time, in June of 1994, when I lived in Arizona, when I was on vacation and I met my family in Carlsbad and it was one of the most severe heat waves in a long time, with the high temperature in Carlsbad, over that stretch, averaging 118 degrees with the hottest temperature recorded being 121 degrees. The state record high temperature for New Mexico,
122 degrees, was recorded during that heat wave at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant,
southeast of Carlsbad.
Even with its somewhat lofty elevation, Carlsbad is still at an elevation of 3,111 feet above sea level. Even though this elevation is rather high, Carlsbad is one of the lowest towns in
New Mexico. In fact, the lowest point in New Mexico is south of Carlsbad at the Texas border at the point where Red Bluff Lake enters Texas. Red Bluff Lake was created by still another dam across the Pecos River. The elevation of the lowest point in New Mexico is 2,817 feet above sea level.
With this introduction, I will now write a series about Carlsbad and its county, Eddy County.
