Capulin New Mexico Map

About Capulin, New Mexico

Capulin is a locality in Union County, New Mexico, United States. It is a small community with a population of 61. The population density is 15.9 people per km². Capulin is located at 36.7465°N, 104.0021°W. It observes the Mountain Time (America/Denver) timezone. ZIP codes: 87017, 88414.

Capulin commands a vast, high-altitude landscape where the horizon stretches toward the jagged, distant silhouettes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It lies 104.8 miles northeast of Las Vegas, NM (from Las Vegas, NM: bearing 41°T), and is situated 27.1 miles east-southeast of Raton. The earth here is defined by the volcanic legacy of Capulin Volcano National Monument, a cinder cone that rises abruptly from the plains to assert its dominance over the thin, clear air. Nearby, the modest waters of Capulin Lake and the intermittent flow of Pinabete Creek provide the only relief to a terrain otherwise characterized by arid, open grasslands. As dusk falls, the light softens into a bruised violet, casting long, stark shadows across the grasses and emphasizing the quiet, imposing solitude of the plateau.

History in Capulin remains etched into the dusty persistence of the local economy, which relies heavily on ranching and the slow, steady rhythm of agricultural life. Travelers occasionally traverse the historic path of Fort Union Road, a reminder of the era when this region served as a vital artery for trade and movement across the frontier. Farther away, the deeper depressions of Rattlesnake Draw cut through the soil, revealing the geological layers that have long supported the scattered, hardworking families of the high desert. Life here moves with a deliberate pace, governed by the seasonal cycles of the land and the endurance of those who have carved a living from the basalt-rich earth.

About This Capulin Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Capulin, New Mexico. Coordinates: 36.746498, -104.00213. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Capulin includes the ZIP code (87017, 88414), telephone area code (505, 575), county seat of Union County (Clayton), and school district assignment (Des Moines Municipal Schools).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.