Taos, NM Elevation & Topographic Map

Topographic elevation map of Taos, New Mexico, shaded from 6,830 ft on the southwest side to 7,210 ft at the foot of the Rincon Mountains
Elevation
7,210 ft 2,195 m7,110 ft 2,170 m7,070 ft 2,155 m6,970 ft 2,125 m6,880 ft 2,095 m6,830 ft 2,085 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.
Town area
Fades everything outside the official town limits (US Census).

Elevation Data

Taos sits at about 6,950 ft (2,120 m) above sea level, worked out from 2020 Census block heights on USGS 3DEP, weighted by residents.

Typical elevation
6,950 ft 2,120 m
most residents: 6,890–7,020 ft
Lowest
6,830 ft 2,085 m
on the southwest side
Highest
7,210 ft 2,195 m
at the foot of the Rincon Mountains
Average
6,970 ft 2,125 m
all land inside town limits

Taos spans about 380 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
6,950 ft2,120 m
Highest point
Inside town limits, at the foot of the Rincon Mountains
7,210 ft2,195 m
Lowest point
Inside town limits, on the southwest side
6,830 ft2,085 m
Town center
USGS map point for Taos
6,970 ft2,125 m
Airport (SKX)
FAA airport elevation, the highest point of its runways, 5.4 mi northwest of the town limits
7,095 ft2,163 m
Average of all land6,970 ft2,125 m
Nearest peak
Pueblo Peak, 6.6 mi northeast of the town limits
12,150 ft3,700 m

Elevation profile, south to north

4.5 mi south to north through the town center.

Altitude Effects

What 6,950 ft means day to day, worked out from the typical elevation.

Water boils at
199.1 °F92.8 °C

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

Air pressure
77% of sea level

23.1 inHg (78.3 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 Taos, New Mexico, shaded from 6,830 ft on the southwest side to 7,210 ft at the foot of the Rincon Mountains
Town limits (dashed) over shaded terrain, with contours every 200 ft (61 m).
Location
Town in Taos County, New Mexico, United States
Population
6,453 2024 est.
Land area
6.2 sq mi
Density
1,048 per sq mi
Coordinates
36.4072° N, 105.5731° W
Time zone
Mountain UTC−7 / −6
Landform region
Southern Rocky Mountains
Drains to
Rio Pueblo de Taos → Rio Grande → Gulf of America
Airport
Taos Regional (SKX) 7,095 ft
ZIP codes 1
87571
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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, FAA

Nearby Places

Nearby towns by typical elevation

  1. Taos Ski Valley11,150 ft
  2. Angel Fire8,620 ft
  3. Arroyo Seco7,630 ft
  4. Vadito7,500 ft
  5. San Cristobal7,370 ft
  6. Picuris Pueblo7,340 ft
  7. Taos Pueblo7,110 ft
  8. Talpa7,080 ft
  9. Ranchos de Taos6,960 ft
  10. Taos6,950 ft
  11. Arroyo Hondo6,830 ft

Rankings by typical elevation

Peaks and hills nearest, by height

  • Wheeler Peak13,167 ft
  • Pueblo Peak12,150 ft
  • Cerro Vista11,940 ft
  • Picuris Peak10,810 ft
  • Capulin Peak, Taos County10,440 ft
How we measure
  • Typical elevation: the population-weighted median: every 2020 Census block inside the town 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 town limits (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.
  • 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); FAA airport data; BTS time zones; NOAA NGS survey heights. All public domain.