Farmington, NM
Farmington (Navajo: Tótah) is a city in San Juan County, New Mexico,
United States (Map).
As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 37,844. The
Census Bureau's 2006 population estimate for the city is 43,573.
Farmington is located at the junction of the San Juan, Animas, and La
Plata rivers, on the Colorado Plateau in the northwest part of the San
Juan Basin. It is the principal city of the Farmington, New Mexico
Metropolitan Statistical Area, and serves as a hub for much of
northwestern New Mexico and the Four Corners region.
Primary industries are natural gas, coal, and oil. Major coal mines are
operated by BHP Billiton 25 to 30 km (15 to 19 miles) southwest of
Farmington, and the coal is used for nearby electric power generation at
the Four Corners Power Plant. A new coal-fired electric power-generating
plant has been proposed in 2006 for the same area. The site for the
proposed plant, part of the Desert Rock Energy Project of Sithe Global
Power, LLC, also is within land of the Navajo Nation. Environmental
effects of such plants have been controversial, in part because of
possible effects on air-quality; because the plant is proposed for
Navajo Nation land, environmental problems are being considered by both
the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. In the spring of 2007, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
issued a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Desert Rock Energy
Project, and controversies about possible environmental effects of the
proposed plant continued. The comment period for the draft Environmental
Impact Statement by the Department of the Interior was extended to
mid-September, 2007.
The site of a 1967 underground nuclear test called "Gasbuggy", part of
Operation Plowshare, was in the Carson National Forest about 50 miles
(80 km) east of Farmington and about 25 miles (40 km) south of Dulce,
New Mexico; the test was an attempt to fracture rock so as to facilitate
gas extraction.
The Navajo Nation (reservation) is just W and SW of Farmington, The Ute
Mountain Indian Reservation is to the NW, and the Southern Ute Indian
Reservation is to the NE. Historic Native American sites are close by.
Aztec Ruins National Monument and Salmon Ruins are ancient pueblo sites
short distances northeast and east of Farmington. Mesa Verde National
Park is about 40 miles (64 km) to the NW, and Chaco Culture National
Historical Park is about 50 miles (80 km) to the SE. The city has been a
target of several civil rights investigations, including the 2005
report, The Farmington Report: Civil Rights for Native Americans 30
Years Later. (Source: http://www.wikipedia.com/)
Web Links:
1. http://www.farmingtonnm.org/
2. http://www.daily-times.com/
3. http://www.sjc.cc.nm.us/pages/1.asp