Farmington, New Mexico
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Farmington (Navajo: Tótah) is a city in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. It is a hub for much of northwestern New Mexico and the Four Corners region.
Farmington is located at the junction of the San Juan, Animas, and La Plata rivers, in the northwest part of the San Juan Basin. Primary industries are natural gas, coal, and oil. Major coal mines are operated by BHP Billiton 25 to 30 km (15 to 19 miles) southwest of Farmington, and the coal is used for nearby electric power generation. A new coal-fired electric power-generating plant has been proposed in 2006 for the same area. The site for the proposed plant, part of the Desert Rock Energy Project of Sithe Global Power, LLC, is within land of the Navajo Nation. Environmental effects of such plants can be controversial, in part because of possible problems of air-quality. The site of a 1967 underground nuclear test called "Gasbuggy", part of Project Plowshare, was in the Carson National Forest about 50 miles east of Farmington and about 25 miles south of Dulce, New Mexico; the test was an attempt to fracture rock so as to facilitate gas extraction. The city has been a target of several civil rights investigations, including the 2005 report, The Farmington Report: Civil Rights for Native Americans 30 Years Later.[link]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 69.9 km² (27.0 mi²). 68.8 km² (26.6 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (1.56%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2005, there were 43,161 people, 13,982 households, and 10,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 549.9/km² (1,424.5/mi²). There were 15,077 housing units at an average density of 219.1/km² (567.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.74% White, 0.84% African American, 16.96% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 7.77% from other races, and 3.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.66% of the population.There were 13,982 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,663, and the median income for a family was $42,605. Males had a median income of $37,068 versus $22,717 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,167. About 12.9% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.8% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Air
Farmington is served by Four Corners Regional Airport.Road
U.S. Route 64 is the major east-west highway through Farmington. U.S. Route 550, which runs through nearby Bloomfield and Aztec, connects Farmington to central New Mexico and I-25.
External links
- [Official Website of the City of Farmington]
- [Farmington Public Library]
- [Farmington Daily Times]
- [Four Corners Storytelling Festival] Annual storytelling festival in October
- [Gasbuggy Nuclear Test Site]
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