Welcome to Chama ...

The village of Chama is located in north central New Mexico.

Chama is located in Rio Arriba County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Chama, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1880.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Chama has a population of 986 people<2> (see below for details).

The community of Chama is 7,820 feet [2,384 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the elevation of Chama is about 1½ mile [or ~2½ km] above sea level.

Time Zone: Chama lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time

The area code for Chama: (575)

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Chama had an population of 986 people. This is a decrease of 3.52% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 17.76% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Chama had a population of 1,022 people. This makes Chama the county's 2nd most populous community.

The population of Chama represents 0.05% of the total population of New Mexico (which has 2,059,179 people), making it the state's 65th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 1,022 people, the population of Chama decreased 14.76% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 1,199 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Chama.

Communities Also Named Chama ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 4 communities that are also named Chama - they are located in Colorado (2) and North Dakota (2).

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Chama.

Communities near Chama ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Chama.

• Lobato ‑ Historic
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobato
  • Lobato is located in Rio Arriba County
• Cumbres
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumbres
  • Cumbres is located in Conejos County (CO)
• Brazos
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brazos
  • Brazos is located in Rio Arriba County
• Los Ojos
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Ojos
  • Los Ojos is located in Rio Arriba County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Los Ojos <4>
• Rutheron
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutheron
  • Rutheron is located in Rio Arriba County
• Monero
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monero
  • Monero is located in Rio Arriba County
• Osier
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osier
  • Osier is located in Conejos County (CO)
• Chromo
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chromo have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chromo
  • Chromo is located in Archuleta County (CO)
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chromo <4>
• Lumberton
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumberton
  • Lumberton is located in Rio Arriba County
• Sublette
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sublette
  • Sublette is located in Rio Arriba County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Chama. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Chama.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Chama. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chama.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Chama. Our list includes 4 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Chama.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Chama ...

Looking for more information about Chama? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Chama, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Chama.

Adding Chama to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Chama in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Chama was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Chama post office opened in 1880.

We also found Chama in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Chama.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Chama. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of New Mexico: www.newmexico.gov/