Introduction

Admire the soft contours and warm colors of adobe walls. Breathe in the pungent piñon smoke from a woodstove, mingled with the spicy smell of chile cooking. Watch the bright ribbons of water that flow through green fields. History lies around every bend. The old west lives on. Slow down -- there's a herd of cattle ahead, ambling up the road on its way to summer pasture. Real life adventure awaits the intrepid traveller. This is Mora County.

Mora County has a well-deserved reputation as New Mexico's prettiest place. The rugged, scenic Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the western portion gradually level off to a high grassy prairie, where scattered peaks and ridges occasionally rise out of the rolling plains. Mora County stretches the length of its Mora River watershed from the spine of the Sangre de Cristo Range in the west to the Canadian River in the east; the eastern boundary of the county is formed by the steep-sided Canadian River Canyon. The streams that make their way through the county and lakes lying on it are the lifeblood of the land.

Large scale ranching operations on the eastern plains constitute a major source of income. For many years Mora County has experienced high unemployment rates and low per capita income.

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