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Shaded-relief map of Pueblo Pintado, New Mexico: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
NEW MEXICO · MCKINLEY COUNTY

Pueblo Pintado

318 people, 6,500 ft above sea level in McKinley County.

6,500 ftElevation, city center
318People, 2024 estimate
31 sq miLand area
Sunny 38°
Sunny now Dew point 37° · N 3 mph · high 42°
City of Pueblo Pintado River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Pueblo Pintado plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Pueblo Pintado

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM MST
RIGHT NOW Los Alamos Airport (KLAM) · 4:55 PM
Sunny
38° Sunny Feels like 36° · high of 42° near 5 PM
WindN 3 mphno gusts
Humidity96%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure29.93 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 37° · Dry27° by Monday: drier air arrives
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Showers
Tuesday90% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 30.02 in · 11 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for McKinley County
NWS Albuquerque and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 5:20 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:45 AM5:04 PM ↓
10 h 18 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
42
GOODAir quality index · ozone
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
42°
30°
50°
30°
52°
34°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
8
7
7
6
5
5
6
6
3
2
2
3
4
6
10
9
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15
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19
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 27 to 37°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 53° / 23°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
42° 30°
10% rain — NE 7 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
50° 29°
0% rain — N 5 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
53° 32°
0% rain — S 8 A
TUE Nov. 17 Showers likely Showers likely
52° 35°
90% rain 0.1–0.3″ SSE 17 B
WED Nov. 18 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
49° 29°
30% rain — NNW 3 B
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
53° 34°
20% rain — SE 12 B
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
49° 26°
50% rain up to 0.3″ W 13 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Pueblo Pintado about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the central Plains three days ago, and over the southern Rockies a day ago, about 720 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. It came down from about 9,100 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the southern Plains; at 10,000 feet, from the southern Rockies. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Pueblo Pintado stands on

Pueblo Pintado’s center stands about 6,500 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 6,400 ft to 6,890 ft, a difference of 490 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Mesa Cortada, about 7,260 ft, 13 miles south-southeast.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Lewis Shale (mudstone, shale), from the Late Cretaceous, 72 to 84 million years old.

The section below crosses 5 rock units mapped at the surface.

Pueblo Pintado, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
6,500 ft6,750 ft7,000 ft7,250 ft PUEBLO PINTADO6,500 ftHigh point of the line7,470 ftCañada Alemitaabout 6,420 ft ← SN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 18×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Kirtland and Fruitland Formations

Sandstone, shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 72 to 84 million years old. About 9 mi of the line.

Cliff House Sandstone

Sandstone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 72 to 84 million years old. About 8 mi of the line.

Lewis Shale

Mudstone, shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 72 to 84 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Pictured Cliffs Sandstone

Sandstone. Age: Late Cretaceous, 72 to 84 million years old. About 0.7 mi of the line.

Ojo Alamo Formation

Conglomerate-sandstone, shale. Age: Paleocene, 56 to 66 million years old. About 0.4 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.
MILE3
THE WATER

Where Pueblo Pintado’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Pueblo Pintado reaches the Gulf of California by way of Chaco Wash, the Chaco, the San Juan and the Colorado: about 1,210 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Pueblo Pintado≈ 1,210 mi · the Gulf of California
FROM THE CENTER OF PUEBLO PINTADO ≈ 1,210 mi to the Gulf of California Chaco Wash → Chaco → San Juan → Colorado

Lakes on the way: Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Lake Mohave and Lake Havasu.

Seldom reaches the sea. Dams and canals now take nearly all of the Colorado before its old delta in Mexico.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Pueblo Pintado; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Pueblo Pintado on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Farmington NM · 63 MI 63 miles northwest Rio Rancho NM · 70 MI 70 miles southeast Albuquerque NM · 81 MI 81 miles southeast Santa Fe NM · 94 MI 94 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Pueblo Pintado, New Mexico. Explore the plate
NEW MEXICO · MCKINLEY

Pueblo Pintado

318 people, 6,500 ft above sea level in McKinley County.

6,500 ftElevation
318People
31 sq miLand
Sunny 38°
SunnyDew point 37°
1

Today in Pueblo Pintado

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy night 42° 7%
8p mostly clear night 37° 1%
11p mostly clear night 34° 1%
2a mostly clear night 32° 0%
5a partly cloudy night 31° 0%
8a partly cloudy day 34° 0%
Showers
NEXT RAINTuesday · 90%
→
Sat10%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
30
42
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
29
50
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
32
53
A
Tue90%
Showers likely Showers likely
35
52
B
Wed30%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
29
49
B
Thu20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
34
53
B
Fri50%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
26
49
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Pueblo Pintado stands on

Pueblo Pintado’s center stands about 6,500 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 6,400 ft to 6,890 ft, a difference of 490 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Mesa Cortada, about 7,260 ft, 13 miles south-southeast.

Pueblo Pintado, south to north Pueblo Pintado6,500 ftCañada Alemitaabout 6,420 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 35×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center6,500 ft
Within 3 miles6,400 to 6,890 ft
Lie of the landHilly (490 ft of relief)
High point nearbyMesa Cortada, 7,260 ft, 13 mi south-southeast
Rock at the surfaceLewis Shale
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 72 to 84 million years old
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,210 mito the Gulf of CaliforniaChaco Wash → Chaco → San Juan → Colorado

A raindrop that lands in Pueblo Pintado reaches the Gulf of California by way of Chaco Wash, the Chaco, the San Juan and the Colorado: about 1,210 river miles.

Lakes on the way: Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Lake Mohave and Lake Havasu.

Seldom reaches the sea. Dams and canals now take nearly all of the Colorado before its old delta in Mexico.