Santa Clara New Mexico Map

About Santa Clara, New Mexico

Santa Clara is a locality in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. Santa Clara is located at 35.9697°N, 106.0870°W. It observes the Mountain Time (America/Denver) timezone. ZIP code: 88022.

Santa Clara lies in a high desert valley, cradled by the rugged Jemez Mountains to the east and the Pajarito Plateau to the west. It lies 21.2 miles north-north-west of Santa Fe, NM (from Santa Fe, NM: bearing 337°T), and is situated 1.5 miles south-south-west of Española. The air here carries a dry, clean scent, tinged with the resin of piñon pine and juniper that cling to the slopes. Red rock formations, weathered into fantastical shapes by wind and water, punctuate the landscape, their surfaces glowing ochre and rust in the relentless New Mexico sun. The Rio Grande, a ribbon of life, cuts a wide path through the valley floor, its banks a stark contrast of green cottonwoods and willows against the arid earth. The silence, when it falls, is profound, broken only by the occasional cry of a hawk or the distant rumble of a passing train. This is a place where the echoes of ancient peoples still linger, their presence felt in the scattered pottery shards and the faint traces of old encampments. Later, Spanish settlers, drawn by the promise of fertile land along the river, established ranches and small communities, their legacy visible in the adobe architecture and the enduring Catholic faith. For decades, the economy of Santa Clara was largely sustained by agriculture, with fertile fields irrigated by the life-giving river, producing chili peppers, beans, and corn. More recently, the proximity to Los Alamos National Laboratory has brought a different kind of lifeblood, a blend of scientific endeavor and rural tradition, creating a unique character for Santa Clara, a place where the past and the present converse in the hushed language of the high desert.

About This Santa Clara Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Santa Clara, New Mexico — switch between views using the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. Coordinates: 35.969746, -106.086968. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service, with current observations and a 7-day forecast also powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while a Wikipedia summary or an editorially written description provides background on Santa Clara and Rio Arriba County.

Detailed location data for Santa Clara includes the ZIP code (88026), telephone area code (505, 575), county seat of Rio Arriba County (Tierra Amarilla), and school district assignment (Cobre Consolidated Schools). These are among the most commonly searched location details for any US city or town.

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Santa Clara is identified even where the name is shared across multiple counties or states. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.