Bluewater Village, New Mexico

Bluewater Village is a census-designated place in Cibola County, New Mexico. Its population in 2010 was 628.[2] Bluewater Village is west of Grants. The Bluewater Elementary School is located here.[4] The Bluewater post office, which is included in the CDP, has a ZIP code of 87005.[5][2]

Bluewater Village, New Mexico
Census-designated place
Bluewater Village
Coordinates: 35°14′17″N 107°58′51″W
CountryUnited States
StateNew Mexico
CountyCibola
Area
 • Total10.107 sq mi (26.18 km2)
 • Land10.087 sq mi (26.13 km2)
 • Water0.020 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation
6,749 ft (2,057 m)
Population
 • Total628
 • Density62/sq mi (24/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code
87005
Area code(s)505
GNIS feature ID2584059[3]

There was formerly a Navajo community at this location, and the area was called Agua Azul. The town was founded in 1880 as a stop on the A&P Railroad. Several Mormon settlers built an earthen dam and established a community nearby in 1896 named Mormontown. The railroad town faded, and Mormontown adopted the name Bluewater.[6]

Anaconda Bluewater Mill, circa 1963

Nearby was the former Bluewater Mill, a uranium mill operated by Anaconda Copper from 1954 to 1982. The site was reclaimed in 1995, under the provisions of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act, and is monitored by the U.S. Department of Energy.[7]

External images
Bluewater Mill and tailings impoundment site
Aerial photo of Bluewater Mill, 1971

References
  1. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  3. "Bluewater Village Census Designated Place". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  4. Grants/Cibola Public Schools
  5. United States Postal Service (2012). "USPS - Look Up a ZIP Code". Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  6. Julyan, Robert (1996). The Place Names of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. p. 44. ISBN 0826316891.
  7. Bluewater, New Mexico, Disposal Site



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