Cathey Peak
Cathey Peak rises to 2,941 m in New Mexico. Sacramento Peak stands 2,821 m to the southwest, 1.8 miles off. The nearest named place is Antarctic Telescope, a artwork 1.8 miles away. Sunspot Scenic Byway runs past it. 84 named places lie within 25 miles, 29 of them named summits.
The story
Cathey Peak is a peak in the Sacramento Mountains, in the south-central part of the U.S. State of New Mexico. It lies in Otero County, 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the community of Alamogordo. Sacramento Peak, at 9,262 feet (2,823 m), is a nearby subpeak of Cathey Peak, and is more widely known due to the presence of several observatories on or near its summit. It is located at 32°47′16″N 105°49′15″W, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) southwest of Cathey Peak, and has a topographic prominence of approximately 80 feet (24 m). The Sunspot Solar Observatory is on the summit itself, and the site of this observatory incorporates the small town of Sunspot, less than one-half mile (0.8 km) to the northeast. The Apache Point Observatory is located on a promontory about one-half mile (0.8 km) south of the summit. Both peaks lie on the high western crest of the Sacramento Mountains, and hence have gentle, forested eastern slopes, and a steep, high escarpment to the west, descending to the Tularosa Basin. Both peaks can be accessed using New Mexico Scenic Byway 6563 from Cloudcroft.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5053019, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 2941 m
How to reach it
- On the Sunspot Scenic Byway
Overlooks nearby
84 named places within 25 miles
- Sacramento Peak: 1.8 mi
- Potato Knob: 2.6 mi
- Stark Peak: 4.2 mi
- Long Ridge: 4.4 mi
- Mule Peak: 4.5 mi
- Paiute Park: 9.3 mi
- Silverado Park: 9.6 mi
- Las Alturas Park: 9.9 mi
- Mimosa Park: 10.0 mi
- Valencia Park: 10.2 mi
- The Alamogordo "A": 9.1 mi
- High Rolls Tunnel: 10.2 mi
- German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Tornado PA-200: 10.5 mi
- X-7A: 10.5 mi
- USAF Space Plane 001: 10.5 mi
- New Mexico Museum of Space History: 10.5 mi
- Sacramento Mountains Historical Society Museum: 11.0 mi
- Tularosa Basin Museum of History: 11.3 mi
- Toy Train Depot: 11.9 mi
- White Sands National Park: 22.1 mi
- Antarctic Telescope: 1.8 mi
- Sacramento mountains murle: 14.0 mi
- Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor: 16.2 mi
- Giant Pistachio: 17.1 mi
- Alamogordo Astronaut Memorial: 10.5 mi
- Grave of Ham the Astrochimp: 10.5 mi
- Alamogordo Founders Park: 11.3 mi
- Sacramento Columbarium: 13.9 mi
- Astronaut Memorial Garden: 10.5 mi
- Alamogordo Community Garden: 11.1 mi
- Prayer garden: 13.9 mi
- Karr Spring: 6.2 mi
- Trestle Picnic Area: 10.7 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Cathey Peak. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento Peak | SW 222° | 2,821 m | 1.8 mi |
| Alamo Peak | N 351° | 2,820 m | 4.6 mi |
| Prestridge Hill | E 84° | 2,638 m | 9.4 mi |
| Jefferies Peak | SE 141° | 2,591 m | 14.2 mi |
| Seep Peak | E 98° | 2,486 m | 13.4 mi |
| Mule Peak | W 271° | 2,462 m | 4.5 mi |
| Long Ridge | WNW 288° | 2,446 m | 4.4 mi |
| Potato Knob | WNW 303° | 2,407 m | 2.6 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:08 | 18:43 | 19:15 |
| June solstice | 05:56 | 19:39 | 20:15 |
| September equinox | 06:52 | 18:29 | 19:01 |
| December solstice | 07:03 | 16:24 | 17:02 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 31 | 33 | 38 | 45 | 52 | 60 | 60 | 59 | 55 | 47 | 38 | 31 |
| Precip in | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 2.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Cloudcroft, 8 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 1988161 — Cathey Peak, Otero County, New Mexico.
OpenStreetMap element node/357621572
Take the scenic way to Cathey Peak.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.