Much of southeast New Mexico is an extension of the Great Plains, but it
has some rugged mountains and a severe desert in the middle of which lie
White Sands National Monument and the White Sands Missile Range.
Mountain ranges include the Sacramento east of Alamogordo and the
Guadalupe Mountains, in which are located Carlsbad Caverns.
The plains part of this region are devoted to cattle, potash, and oil.
Like the other plains regions of New Mexico, the heritage passed on from
the great cattle empires of bygone days is very strong and detectable in
the people. Since the early 1930’s, oil has come to play an increasingly
important part in the history of this section. This is especially true
near Hobbs.
[Illustration: (_Forest Service, U.S.D.A._)
Anyone for a hike?... in the Guadalupe Mountains]
The desert region in the western part of this section has clearly
defined aspects of the old and the new. The southern part of the dread
Jornado del Muerto swept across this arid land and only returned to the
river near modern Hatch, or sometimes farther south, near modern Las
Cruces, according to the whim of the river. Here also lies the White
Sands National Monument, a desert spot of unusual beauty and interest.
Near the Monument, the White Sands Missile Range stands as an advanced
scientific test center for the most modern of vehicles, the rocket. Near
Alamogordo, another advanced space development and testing facility is
located at Holloman Air Force Base. So the desert is useful, and it is
beautiful, and it is full of tragic history.
This is also Indian land. East of Tularosa is the Mescalero Apache
Indian Reservation. In a way, this region has always belonged to the
Apache, at least since he migrated into New Mexico. The area contained
no sedentary groups and the Apache appropriated it as his own. His
strongholds were in the Guadalupe and Sacramento mountains. The forts
along the Rio Grande, like Forts Fillmore and Selden, were located to
control the Mescalero and other Apache groups. All that remains today
are the Mescaleros.
There was little Spanish influence in this area except near El Paso and
in the Rio Grande Valley. The Spanish were more attracted to the upper
Rio Grande Valley because of the sedentary nature of the Indians of that
region. The southeast underwent its greatest development in the American
period.
Again, sense the mosaic: These are not blends of land and history; they
are sharp and distinct, each with its own character. Search for the
history and the beauty, for they do not come automatically.