Ruidoso, NM Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Ruidoso, New Mexico, shaded from 6,440 ft on the east side to 7,770 ft on the north side
Elevation
7,770 ft 2,365 m7,430 ft 2,265 m7,270 ft 2,215 m6,930 ft 2,115 m6,600 ft 2,010 m6,440 ft 1,960 m
Contours every 200 ft, bold every 1,000 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.
Village area
Fades everything outside the official village limits (US Census).

Elevation Data

Ruidoso sits at about 6,890 ft (2,100 m) above sea level, worked out from 2020 Census block heights on USGS 3DEP, weighted by residents.

Typical elevation
6,890 ft 2,100 m
most residents: 6,600–7,250 ft
Lowest
6,440 ft 1,960 m
on the east side
Highest
7,770 ft 2,365 m
on the north side
Average
6,950 ft 2,120 m
all land inside village limits

Ruidoso spans about 1,330 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
6,890 ft2,100 m
Highest point
Inside village limits, on the north side
7,770 ft2,365 m
Lowest point
Inside village limits, on the east side
6,440 ft1,960 m
Town center
USGS map point for Ruidoso
6,730 ft2,050 m
Average of all land6,950 ft2,120 m
Nearest peak
Sierra Blanca Peak, 5.3 mi west of the village limits (NGS survey)
11,981 ft3,652 m

Elevation profile, south to north

5.3 mi south to north through the town center.

Altitude Effects

What 6,890 ft means day to day, worked out from the typical elevation.

Water boils at
199.2 °F92.9 °C

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

Air pressure
77% of sea level

23.2 inHg (78.5 kPa): each breath holds 23% less air.

Oxygen equivalent
16.2% at sea level

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

Sunburn
+14% more UV

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

Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Ruidoso, New Mexico, shaded from 6,440 ft on the east side to 7,770 ft on the north side
Village limits (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 200 ft (61 m).
Location
Village in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States
Population
7,640 2024 est.
Land area
16.1 sq mi
Density
474 per sq mi
Coordinates
33.3317° N, 105.6730° W
Time zone
Mountain UTC−7 / −6
Landform region
Basin and Range
Drains to
Rio Hondo → Pecos River → Rio Grande → Gulf of America
ZIP codes 3
88312 88345 88355
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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. Cloudcroft8,760 ft
  2. Twin Forks7,820 ft
  3. Mescalero7,130 ft
  4. Ruidoso6,890 ft
  5. Nogal6,850 ft
  6. High Rolls6,770 ft
  7. Capitan6,550 ft
  8. Ruidoso Downs6,440 ft
  9. Bent5,900 ft
  10. Carrizozo5,420 ft
  11. Tularosa4,520 ft

Rankings by typical elevation

Peaks and hills nearest, by height

  • Sierra Blanca Peak11,981 ft
  • Carrizo Mountain9,620 ft
  • West Mountain8,770 ft
  • Tucson Mountain8,310 ft
  • Cub Mountain7,870 ft
How we measure
  • Typical elevation: the population-weighted median: every 2020 Census block inside the village limits, 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 village limits (TIGER, Jan 1 2026).
  • Pits: the lowest point is the lowest ground outside closed hollows of under 0.4 sq mi (1 km²) (quarry floors, mine pits, terrain-model artifacts) and outside patches below sea level of under 0.4 sq mi (1 km²). The single lowest 3DEP cell, 6,430 ft at 33.3265° N, 105.6282° W, is in such a hollow or patch and is not counted.
  • 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.
  • Sources: USGS 3DEP, GNIS, Watershed Boundary Dataset and physiographic provinces; U.S. Census Bureau (boundaries, 2020 blocks, 2024 population estimates, Gazetteer areas, ZIP code areas); BTS time zones; NOAA NGS survey heights. All public domain.