Luna, New Mexico

This article is about the census-designated place in New Mexico, United States. For the county, see Luna County, New Mexico.

Luna is a census-designated place in northwestern Catron County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 158.^[4] It is situated on the San Francisco River and U.S. Route 180, 7 miles (11 km) east of the Arizona border and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Reserve, the Catron county seat.

Luna, New Mexico
Census-designated place
Luna Location within the state of New Mexico Show map of New Mexico Luna Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 33°49′05″N 108°56′37″W
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
County	Catron
Named after	Solomon Luna
Area [1]
• Total	5.57 sq mi (14.42 km2)
• Land	5.56 sq mi (14.40 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation [2]	7,008 ft (2,136 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	194
• Density	34.90/sq mi (13.47/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	MDT
Area code	575
GNIS feature ID	2584149[2]

History

In the 19th century, Luna was part of the extensive lands of Solomon Luna, and the valley was used for sheep ranching. It briefly was an outlaw hide-away, but was settled by Mormon ranchers in 1883 and subject to Chiricahua Apache attacks until the surrender of Geronimo. The town was named after Don Salomon Luna.

The post office was opened in 1886.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2020	194		—
U.S. Decennial Census[5][3]

Education

It is in the Reserve Independent School District.^[6]

Climate

Luna has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb), bordering on a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb).

Climate data for Luna Ranger Station, New Mexico, 1991–2020 normals, 1903-2020 extremes: 7050ft (2149m)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	72 (22)	76 (24)	81 (27)	89 (32)	96 (36)	101 (38)	100 (38)	97 (36)	97 (36)	87 (31)	80 (27)	73 (23)	101 (38)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	63.3 (17.4)	64.8 (18.2)	70.6 (21.4)	77.2 (25.1)	84.3 (29.1)	91.5 (33.1)	92.6 (33.7)	88.2 (31.2)	84.6 (29.2)	78.4 (25.8)	70.5 (21.4)	64.2 (17.9)	93.7 (34.3)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	51.9 (11.1)	54.6 (12.6)	60.9 (16.1)	67.2 (19.6)	75.4 (24.1)	85.0 (29.4)	85.3 (29.6)	81.8 (27.7)	78.5 (25.8)	71.0 (21.7)	60.7 (15.9)	52.3 (11.3)	68.7 (20.4)
Daily mean °F (°C)	32.7 (0.4)	35.6 (2.0)	40.1 (4.5)	45.9 (7.7)	52.5 (11.4)	61.2 (16.2)	66.4 (19.1)	64.5 (18.1)	58.8 (14.9)	48.8 (9.3)	39.3 (4.1)	32.6 (0.3)	48.2 (9.0)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	13.5 (−10.3)	16.5 (−8.6)	19.3 (−7.1)	24.5 (−4.2)	29.7 (−1.3)	37.4 (3.0)	47.5 (8.6)	47.2 (8.4)	39.1 (3.9)	26.7 (−2.9)	18.0 (−7.8)	13.0 (−10.6)	27.7 (−2.4)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	−4.6 (−20.3)	−0.8 (−18.2)	4.4 (−15.3)	10.6 (−11.9)	17.6 (−8.0)	25.5 (−3.6)	35.9 (2.2)	38.0 (3.3)	26.9 (−2.8)	13.3 (−10.4)	1.5 (−16.9)	−8.4 (−22.4)	−11.8 (−24.3)
Record low °F (°C)	−32 (−36)	−31 (−35)	−18 (−28)	−5 (−21)	7 (−14)	18 (−8)	26 (−3)	30 (−1)	19 (−7)	2 (−17)	−25 (−32)	−32 (−36)	−32 (−36)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	1.21 (31)	1.05 (27)	0.82 (21)	0.45 (11)	0.68 (17)	0.61 (15)	3.37 (86)	3.84 (98)	2.16 (55)	1.42 (36)	0.86 (22)	1.11 (28)	17.58 (447)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	5.40 (13.7)	1.70 (4.3)	1.40 (3.6)	0.70 (1.8)	0.00 (0.00)	0.00 (0.00)	0.00 (0.00)	0.00 (0.00)	0.00 (0.00)	0.10 (0.25)	1.40 (3.6)	6.90 (17.5)	17.6 (44.75)
Source 1: NOAA[7]
Source 2: XMACIS2 (records & 1981-2010 monthly max/mins)[8]

Culture

See also: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Mexico

"Mormon Pioneer Day" is celebrated on the Saturday closest to July 24 at the village rodeo grounds with a parade, rodeo and dance.

On the 4th of July, festivities are held as well as a cake making contest.

See also

• New Mexico portal

• List of census-designated places in New Mexico