Placitas, NM Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Placitas, New Mexico, shaded from 5,100 ft on the west side to 6,990 ft on the east side
Elevation
6,990 ft 2,130 m6,520 ft 1,985 m6,280 ft 1,915 m5,810 ft 1,770 m5,330 ft 1,625 m5,100 ft 1,555 m
Contours every 100 ft, bold every 500 ft
USGS 3DEP · U.S. Census Bureau
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How to use this mapviews, tools and data
Elevation
Ground colored by height from green (lowest) to white (highest), with contour lines every 40–500 ft (USGS data).
Satellite
A 2016 satellite photo at 33 ft (10 m) detail; contours off.
3D
Tilt and turn the terrain; hills are raised 1.5×, or set ×1 for true height.
Click or tap anywhere
The exact elevation of that spot in ft and m.
Measure
Pick two points for the climb, descent and grade along a straight line.
Area
Fades everything outside the official CDP boundary (US Census).

Elevation Data

Placitas sits at about 5,650 ft (1,720 m) above sea level, worked out from 2020 Census block heights on USGS 3DEP, weighted by residents.

Typical elevation
5,650 ft 1,720 m
most residents: 5,290–6,120 ft
Lowest
5,100 ft 1,555 m
on the west side
Highest
6,990 ft 2,130 m
on the east side
Average
5,800 ft 1,770 m
all land inside the CDP boundary

Placitas spans about 1,890 ft of height, so no single spot tells the whole story. The ruler shows where its people live, and where the other numbers you'll see come from.

FigureElevation
Typical
Where people live: half of residents higher, half lower
5,650 ft1,720 m
Highest point
Inside the CDP boundary, on the east side
6,990 ft2,130 m
Lowest point
Inside the CDP boundary, on the west side
5,100 ft1,555 m
Town center
USGS map point for Placitas
5,950 ft1,815 m
Average of all land5,800 ft1,770 m
Nearest peak
Sandia Crest, 5.4 mi south of the CDP boundary
10,670 ft3,255 m

Elevation profile, west to east

9.2 mi west to east through the town center.

Altitude Effects

What 5,650 ft means day to day, worked out from the typical elevation.

Water boils at
201.5 °F94.2 °C

vs 212 °F at sea level; USDA: food takes longer to cook.

Air pressure
81% of sea level

24.3 inHg (82.3 kPa): each breath holds 19% less air.

Oxygen equivalent
17.0% at sea level

Air is still 21% oxygen, just thinner. Normal at the coast: 20.9%.

Sunburn
+11% more UV

EPA: UV rises about 2% for every 1,000 ft.

Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Placitas, New Mexico, shaded from 5,100 ft on the west side to 6,990 ft on the east side
CDP boundary (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 200 ft (61 m).
Location
Unincorporated community (census-designated place) in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States
Population
5,041 2020 Census
Land area
29.4 sq mi
Density
171 per sq mi
Coordinates
35.3070° N, 106.4247° W
Time zone
Mountain UTC−7 / −6
Landform region
Basin and Range
Drains to
Rio Grande → Gulf of America
ZIP codes 1
87043
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WebP, 1200 × 900. Free to use: credit “ElevationOf.com” with a link to this page.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, USGS

Nearby Places

Nearby towns by typical elevation

  1. Sandia Park7,050 ft
  2. San Antonito6,980 ft
  3. Paa-Ko6,740 ft
  4. La Madera6,660 ft
  5. Sandia Heights6,140 ft
  6. Placitas5,650 ft
  7. San Felipe Pueblo5,160 ft
  8. Algodones5,100 ft
  9. Santa Ana Pueblo5,080 ft
  10. Bernalillo5,050 ft
  11. Pueblo of Sandia Village5,050 ft

Rankings by typical elevation

Peaks and hills nearest, by height

  • Sandia Crest10,670 ft
  • Bosque Peak9,620 ft
  • Placer Mountain8,900 ft
  • South Mountain8,750 ft
  • Mesa Prieta7,529 ft
How we measure
  • Typical elevation: the population-weighted median: every 2020 Census block inside the CDP boundary, at its USGS 3DEP height, weighted by the people who live there. Half of residents live higher, half lower.
  • Lowest, highest, average: USGS 3DEP bare-earth heights on a 1 arc-second (≈100 ft, 30 m) grid, land only, inside the Census CDP boundary (TIGER, Jan 1 2026).
  • Nearby Places: nearby towns and rankings use each town's typical elevation, so every town is compared like for like. Rankings count every city, town, township and census-designated place, including places inside a town. Peaks and hills: the nearest summits with at least 980 ft (300 m) of prominence within 62 mi (100 km), then federal (GNIS) summits within 16 mi (25 km) when there are fewer than 5; each is the 3DEP top on a ~7 ft (2 m) window, or the NGS published height when a usable survey mark sits within 160 ft (50 m) of it (shown as published).
  • Altitude effects: standard-atmosphere formulas applied to the typical elevation; UV from EPA's rule of thumb (about 2% per 1,000 ft).
  • Rounding: computed heights are rounded to 10 ft (5 m), or to 1 ft (1 m) under 100 ft; 3DEP is good to about a meter, not a foot. Published figures (FAA airport elevation, NGS survey heights) are shown as their publisher gives them.
  • Datum: North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). NGS plans to replace NAVD 88 with a new datum (NAPGD2022); heights will then shift slightly.
  • Placitas is an unincorporated community; figures cover the census-designated place, a statistical area.
  • Sources: USGS 3DEP, GNIS, Watershed Boundary Dataset and physiographic provinces; U.S. Census Bureau (boundaries, 2020 blocks, Gazetteer areas, ZIP code areas); BTS time zones; NOAA NGS survey heights. All public domain.