Alamogordo

Alamogordo (ăl"umugôr'dō, –du) [key], city (1990 pop. 27,596), seat of Otero co., S N.Mex., near the Sacramento Mts.; inc. 1912. Holloman Air Force Base, home to U.S. stealth aircraft, is there, and the White Sands Missile Range is nearby. The city, founded in 1898 with the arrival of the Southern Pacific RR, became a regional trade center. Cattle, sheep, pecans, pistachios, fruit, alfalfa, and timber are produced. Among its industries are refrigerator production, printing and publishing, and meatpacking. New Mexico State Univ. has a branch at Alamogordo. White Sands National Monument (see National Parks and Monuments, table) lies to the west. The Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was exploded on July 16, 1945, is northwest. A space shuttle landing site, the International Space Hall of Fame, the Mescalero (Apache) Reservation, and Lincoln National Forest are nearby.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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