New Mexico has some of the flattest land as well as some of the most rugged mountains in the country. The eastern third of the state is part of the Great Plains and includes the Llano Estacado (“Staked Plain”), named for the spiky agave plants (century plants) that grown there.
The Continental Divide runs from the north to the south through the center of New Mexico. The north-central part of the state contains the Southern Rocky Mountains. Northwestern New Mexico ais part of the Colorado Plateau and has many unique volcanic formations that are a result of past lava flows. Southwest of the Rockies is part of the Basin and Range Province, made up of mountain ranges running in a north-south direction. In the eastern part of the state is the edge of the Great Plains. The highest point in the state is Wheeler Peak, at 13,161ft (4,014m); the lowest point, 2,842ft (867m), is at Red Bluff Reservoir.
In the foothills of the Guadalupe mountains, in the southeast of the state are the Carlsbad Caverns, the largest known underground cavern system in the world. The caverns include more than 37mi (60 km) of connecting chambers and corridors and are famous for their stalactites and stalagmites.
Major mountain ranges include the Southern Rockies, the Chuska Mountains in the northwest, and the Caballo, San Andres, San Mateo, Sacramento, and Guadalupe ranges in the south and southwest. The highest point in the state is Wheeler Peak, at 13,161ft (4,014m); the lowest point, 2,842ft (867m), is at Red Bluff Reservoir.
Five major rivers run through the state—the Rio Grande, the Pecos, the Canadian, the San Juan, and the Gila. The biggest is the Rio Grande, which flows through the middle of the state from north to south and forms a small part of the state's southern border with Texas. The Rio Grande and the Pecos river, to the east of the Rio Grande, were important routes for explorers. The Canadian River rises in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range and flows east across the arid plains, and has many deep canyons. The San Juan and Gila rivers lie west of the Continental Divide, in the northwest and southwest of the state. All of the major rivers, except for the Gila, have dams that provide irrigation, recreation, and flood control. There are few natural lakes in the state, but there are many artificial lakes and reservoirs which were created by the dams. The largest is Elephant Butte Reservoir, which was created by damming of the Rio Grande.
New Mexico is known for its sunny, warm and dry that ranges from arid to semiarid, with a wide range of temperatures. Although the average temperatures are very pleasant, the temperatures can swing from 120°F (about 48°C) in the lower areas in the summer to -50s °F (about -46°C) in the high mountains in the winter. The average yearly rainfall is about 13in (330mm), and much more rain falls in the mountains than on the plains, which may get no more than 8 to 10in (200 to 250mm) each year . Around half of the rain falls during July and August, and thunderstorms are common in the summer. Snow is much more frequent in the north than in the south; Albuquerque gets about 10in (25cm) of snow per year, and the northern mountains receive up to 100in (254cm).
The record high temperature for the state is 122°F (50°C), set most recently on 27 July 1994 at Lakewood; the record low, –50°F (–46°C), was set on 1 February 1951 at Gavilan.
