How Tall Is New Mexico? Total Distance North to South - A-Z Animals

Source：AZ Animals Time：November 22, 2023

New Mexico is a beautiful southwestern state that is known for a lot of things. From its beautiful white sands to its reputation for its hot peppers, there really isn’t any place like it. Today, we’re going to take a look at a question of size. When we travel to any place – or when we just want to know more about it – it is helpful to have certain dimensions in mind. We need to know how long it takes to traverse a certain distance or where a place is on a map. That’s what we’ll be checking out now. We wanted to find out exactly how tall New Mexico is – from it’s northernmost reaches to its southernmost tip. How tall is New Mexico? We’re about to find out.

How Tall is New Mexico?

From tip to toe (north to south) New Mexico spans a grand total of 371 miles. This is in comparison to its 344 mile width. New Mexico is the fifth-largest state by area and spans 121,590 square miles. New Mexico sits at an average elevation of 5,701 feet above sea level. Its highest point – Wheeler Peak – rests at an elevation of 13,161 feet above sea level. In complete contrast, the lowest point in the state is Red Bluff Reservoir, which rests at 2,842 feet above sea level.

How does New Mexico’s height stack up against other states? Let’s look at a helpful table to show where this southwestern state stands. We’ve included the largest and smallest states in the United States – Alaska and Rhode Island, respectively – to get a more grand idea of scale.

State	Height (Distance North to South)	Width (Distance East to West)
Arizona	390 miles	335 miles
California	800 miles	360 miles
Alaska	1,420 miles	2,400 miles
Rhode Island	48 miles	37 miles
Colorado	280 miles	380 miles

How Long Does it Take to Cross New Mexico?

Let’s take a trip from the northernmost tip of New Mexico to the southernmost portion of the state. This is not a direct north-to-south route but it’s as close as we can get. Our trip will take us from just north of Shiprock at a point just south of the Colorado border to the United States Customs and Border Protection stop at the southernmost point of New Mexico. This trip spans 498 miles and takes an average of 8 hours and 21 minutes to complete. We have included a helpful map showing what this trip would look like if you were to drive it yourself.

Points of Interest in New Mexico

New Mexico is home to a lot of fun things, including a lot of opportunities for outdoor recreation. We’ve included a short list of potential places to visit if you find yourself in this southern state.