Socorro, New Mexico
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Image:Socorro Art Project.jpg Socorro is a city located in Socorro County, New Mexico in the Rio Grande Valley, at an elevation of 4579 feet. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,877. It is the county seat of Socorro CountyTemplate:GR.
The City of Socorro bills itself as having been established in 1598, but it would be more accurate to say that the area was named in that year by Spanish explorers who had crossed the Jornada del Muerto and were much in need of the aid and hospitality they received upon reaching the area which is Socorro today. The name means ‘aid’, ‘help’, or ‘refuge’.
Modern Socorro offers many diversions for travelers and tourists, but is easily missed by drivers on Interstate 25. Those travelers who explore the area beyond California Street (the main through road) can easily get lost as the pattern of roads in Socorro follows several patterns which come together at atypical intersections. Additionally, some streets in town are oddly named: Central and Center street are parallel, two blocks apart; Neel and Neal have nothing to do with each other; there is a Cassity St. on one end of town and a Cassady Ln. on the other; and Long Street is one block long while Short Street is three blocks long.
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Geography
Image:NMMap-doton-Socorro.PNG Socorro is located at 34°3'42" North, 106°53'58" West (34.061759, -106.899424)Template:GR. The town rests inside an old, large volcanic caldera.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.4 km² (14.4 mi²). 37.3 km² (14.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.21% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 8,877 people, 3,415 households, and 2,151 families residing in the city. The population density was 237.9/km² (615.8/mi²). There were 3,940 housing units at an average density of 105.6/km² (273.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.16% White, 0.74% African American, 2.77% Native American, 2.24% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 23.24% from other races, and 4.79% from two or more races. 54.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,415 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 16.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 106.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $22,530, and the median income for a family was $33,013. Males had a median income of $31,517 versus $23,071 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,250. 32.3% of the population and 24.1% of families were below the poverty line. 44.4% of those under the age of 18 and 23.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Socorro is home to the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech), the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center, as well as the New Mexico State Fire Academy. Also on the campus at "Tech" is the NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatory) Array Operations Center, the headquarters for the Very Large Array radiotelescope which is west of Socorro between Magdalena and Datil, and which was where various parts of the movie Contact were filmed.
UFO Lore
Much lore has been spread around the local college, New Mexico Tech, regarding UFO incidents. Most of these stories are purported to be college pranks. There is still no convincing evidence to support any of these rumored Socorro area crashes.
The most famous story of these involved a Socorro policeman by the name of Lonnie Zamora on April 24, 1964. He reported an unknown object landing and taking off just south of town. Zamora said he was able to approach the craft within 50 feet seeing two small humanoid crew members from a distance. Much physical trace evidence was left behind. This evidence, according to the stories at New Mexico Tech, was created in a materials engineering laboratory. When the local police brought the evidence to the school the students, who created the material, purported never to have seen the material before. The incident gained much press over the years, however there is no convincing evidence to support any extraterrestrial claims.