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Palo Blanco

Ghost town · Colfax County, New Mexico

Palo Blanco Mountain quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1971, 1:24,000)
Palo Blanco Mountain quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1971, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Palo Blanco is a ghost town in Colfax County, New Mexico. It is one of 12 former communities in Colfax County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 4th among the 31 New Mexico counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Palo Blanco as a historical populated place on the Palo Blanco Mountain topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 36.5034° N, 104.0636° W.

Key facts

USGS quadranglePalo Blanco Mountain
Elevation6,636 ft
Nearest living townCapulin, NM
Distance to it17.1 miles
GNIS feature ID902114
Coordinates36.50336, -104.06359

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Palo Blanco is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Capulin, NM (population 79), about 17.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 6,636 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Palo Blanco?

Palo Blanco is in Colfax County, New Mexico, at 36.5034, -104.0636.

How many ghost towns are in Colfax County?

Colfax County, New Mexico has 12 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.