Welcome to La Plata ...
La Plata is located in northwest New Mexico.
La Plata is located in San Juan County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of La Plata, you might consider that their post office opened in 1881.
La Plata is 5,780 feet [1,762 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the altitude of La Plata is about 1 mile [or ~1¾ km] above sea level.
Time Zone: La Plata lies in the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you leave La Plata and travel west, you will leave Mountain Time and cross into the Mountain Standard Time Zone (MST). In addition, you will be moving from an area that observes daylight saving time to one that does not.
Area Code for La Plata: 505
The ZIP code for La Plata: 87418<3>
Communities Also Named La Plata ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 7 communities that are also named La Plata - they are located in Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, Texas (2) and Utah.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for La Plata.
Communities near La Plata ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near La Plata.
- Farmington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington
- Farmington is located in San Juan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,156 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farmington <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Farmington
- From La Plata to Farmington
- Bloomfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bloomfield have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Bloomfield is located in San Juan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,643 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bloomfield <4>
- Aztec
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aztec
- Aztec is located in San Juan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,332 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aztec <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Aztec
- From La Plata to Aztec
- Kirtland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirtland have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirtland
- Kirtland is located in San Juan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kirtland <4>
- Flora Vista
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flora Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora Vista
- Flora Vista is located in San Juan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flora Vista <4>
- Marvel
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marvel have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvel
- Marvel is located in La Plata County (CO)
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marvel <4>
- Upper Fruitland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Fruitland
- Upper Fruitland is located in San Juan County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Upper Fruitland
- From La Plata to Upper Fruitland
- Fruitland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
- Fruitland is located in San Juan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitland <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Fruitland
- From La Plata to Fruitland
- Nenahnezad
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nenahnezad have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nenahnezad
- Nenahnezad is located in San Juan County
- Bondad
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bondad. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondad
- Bondad is located in La Plata County (CO)
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Bondad
- From La Plata to Bondad
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 La Plata. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for La Plata.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of La Plata. 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 La Plata.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around La Plata. See our Newspapers Page for La Plata.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for La Plata ...
Looking for more information about La Plata? 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 La Plata, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for La Plata.
Adding La Plata to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of La Plata 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 La Plata was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
X2X - From that list, the La Plata post office opened in 1881.
We also found La Plata in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for La Plata.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for La Plata. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for San Juan County: www.co.san-juan.nm.us/
The official website for State of New Mexico: https://www.nm.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of New Mexico's counties, including San Juan, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around La Plata - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as La Plata). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether La Plata or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <6> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |