Luna, New Mexico
Census-designated place in Luna County, New Mexico, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luna is a census-designated place in northwestern Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Luna had a population of 194.[4] It is situated on the San Francisco River and U.S. Route 180, 7 miles (11 km) east of the Arizona border and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Reserve, the Catron county seat.
Luna, New Mexico | |
|---|---|
  Luna Location within the state of New Mexico  Luna Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 33°49′05″N 108°56′37″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Catron |
| Named after | Solomon Luna |
| Area | |
• Total | 5.57 sq mi (14.42 km2) |
| • Land | 5.56 sq mi (14.40 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0077 sq mi (0.02 km2) |
| Elevation | 7,008 ft (2,136 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 194 |
| • Density | 34.9/sq mi (13.47/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT |
| Area code | 575 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2584149[2] |
History
In the 19th century, Luna was part of the extensive lands of Solomon Luna, and the valley was used for sheep ranching. It briefly was an outlaw hide-away, but was settled by Mormon ranchers in 1883 and subject to Chiricahua Apache attacks until the surrender of Geronimo. The town was named after Don Salomon Luna.
The post office was opened in 1886.
Demographics
Education
It is in the Reserve Independent School District.[6]
Climate
Luna has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb), bordering on a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb).
| Climate data for Luna Ranger Station, New Mexico, 1991–2020 normals, 1903-2020 extremes: 7050ft (2149m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 72 (22) |
76 (24) |
81 (27) |
89 (32) |
96 (36) |
101 (38) |
100 (38) |
97 (36) |
97 (36) |
87 (31) |
80 (27) |
73 (23) |
101 (38) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 63.3 (17.4) |
64.8 (18.2) |
70.6 (21.4) |
77.2 (25.1) |
84.3 (29.1) |
91.5 (33.1) |
92.6 (33.7) |
88.2 (31.2) |
84.6 (29.2) |
78.4 (25.8) |
70.5 (21.4) |
64.2 (17.9) |
93.7 (34.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 51.9 (11.1) |
54.6 (12.6) |
60.9 (16.1) |
67.2 (19.6) |
75.4 (24.1) |
85.0 (29.4) |
85.3 (29.6) |
81.8 (27.7) |
78.5 (25.8) |
71.0 (21.7) |
60.7 (15.9) |
52.3 (11.3) |
68.7 (20.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 32.7 (0.4) |
35.6 (2.0) |
40.1 (4.5) |
45.9 (7.7) |
52.5 (11.4) |
61.2 (16.2) |
66.4 (19.1) |
64.5 (18.1) |
58.8 (14.9) |
48.8 (9.3) |
39.3 (4.1) |
32.6 (0.3) |
48.2 (9.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 13.5 (−10.3) |
16.5 (−8.6) |
19.3 (−7.1) |
24.5 (−4.2) |
29.7 (−1.3) |
37.4 (3.0) |
47.5 (8.6) |
47.2 (8.4) |
39.1 (3.9) |
26.7 (−2.9) |
18.0 (−7.8) |
13.0 (−10.6) |
27.7 (−2.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −4.6 (−20.3) |
−0.8 (−18.2) |
4.4 (−15.3) |
10.6 (−11.9) |
17.6 (−8.0) |
25.5 (−3.6) |
35.9 (2.2) |
38.0 (3.3) |
26.9 (−2.8) |
13.3 (−10.4) |
1.5 (−16.9) |
−8.4 (−22.4) |
−11.8 (−24.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −32 (−36) |
−31 (−35) |
−18 (−28) |
−5 (−21) |
7 (−14) |
18 (−8) |
26 (−3) |
30 (−1) |
19 (−7) |
2 (−17) |
−25 (−32) |
−32 (−36) |
−32 (−36) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.21 (31) |
1.05 (27) |
0.82 (21) |
0.45 (11) |
0.68 (17) |
0.61 (15) |
3.37 (86) |
3.84 (98) |
2.16 (55) |
1.42 (36) |
0.86 (22) |
1.11 (28) |
17.58 (447) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.40 (13.7) |
1.70 (4.3) |
1.40 (3.6) |
0.70 (1.8) |
0.00 (0.00) |
0.00 (0.00) |
0.00 (0.00) |
0.00 (0.00) |
0.00 (0.00) |
0.10 (0.25) |
1.40 (3.6) |
6.90 (17.5) |
17.6 (44.75) |
| Source 1: NOAA[7] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS2 (records & 1981-2010 monthly max/mins)[8] | |||||||||||||
Culture
"Mormon Pioneer Day" is celebrated on the Saturday closest to July 24 at the village rodeo grounds with a parade, rodeo and dance.
On the 4th of July, festivities are held as well as a cake making contest.
