Otero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,839. Its county seat is Alamogordo. Its southern boundary is the Texas state line. White Sands National Park, Lincoln National Forest and the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation are in Otero county.
White Sands National Park is a national park of the United States located in New Mexico and completely surrounded by White Sands Missile Range. Spanning nearly 275 square miles, White Sands is home to a surreal landscape of rolling white dunes, with 230 square miles open for exploration. It's a playground for hiking, sledding, stargazing, and more.
The Three Rivers rock carvings are outstanding examples of prehistoric rock art from the Jornada Mogollon people. The basalt mountain range rising above the Three Rivers Valley contains over 21,000 rock carvings, including masks, sunbursts, wildlife, handprints, and geometric patterns. The sheer number and density of the carvings make this one of the largest and most interesting rock art sites in the American Southwest.
