Understand
The boundary between this region and Southwest New Mexico is indistinct and open to debate, but for purposes of this article, is taken to be the western slopes of the Sacramento Mountains including just barely White Sands National Monument. Otherwise, it is bounded on the east and south by the Texas state line, and on the north by Interstate highway 40, which follows the route of historic Route 66 in New Mexico.
Thus defined, this is mainly a low, flat region with a number of affinities to the Panhandle region of Texas; indeed, the area bounded by Clovis, Roswell, Carlsbad and Hobbs is commonly called "Little Texas" not only for its social leanings but also because of its extensive oil fields. However, in addition to the Sacramentos, it does contain the rugged Guadalupe Mountains that rise west of Artesia, Carlsbad and Roswell and continue across the Texas state line to Guadalupe Mountains National Park and the highest point in Texas, Guadalupe Peak. Most of the region's scenic points of interest are in or near the Sacramentos or Guadalupes, with Carlsbad Caverns in the latter's foothills and White Sands just west of the former.
This geology affects the traveler in one non-obvious way. The "Little Texas" part of the state is basically a vast plain with an extensive layer of gypsum rock beneath it. While this permeable rock is valuable in preserving the limited precipitation nearly the entire region qualifies as "desert", it also means that water drawn from wells in the region has a taste that can charitably be described as "vile." It's perfectly safe to drink, but such is its taste that this is a good region in which to make use of bottled water.
