Rock Springs () is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

McKinley County McKinley County is a county in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 72,902. Its county seat is Gallup. The county was created in 1901 and named for President William ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States. The population was 807 at the 2020 census. The community is the center of the Rock Springs

Chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

History

The Rock Springs Chapter started to take form in the late 1930s. It is part of the "Checker Board Area" in the Eastern Agency of the Navajo Nation. The chapter area covers the communities of Sagebrush, China Springs, and Rock Springs. The community of Yatahey Junction (including Navajo Estates) is within the chapter boundaries, although is not governed by the chapter. The chapter is within commuting distance of

Gallup Gallup may refer to: * Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll * Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States ** Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New ...

and is influenced by this city in terms of modernization.

Geography

Rock Springs is in western McKinley County, by road northwest of Gallup, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. It is bordered to the east by the Yah-ta-hey CDP. New Mexico State Road 264 crosses the northern part of Rock Springs, leading east to

U.S. Route 491 U.S. Route 491 (US 491) is a north–south U.S. Highway serving the Four Corners region of the United States. It was created in 2003 as a renumbering of U.S. Route 666 (US 666). With the US 666 designation, the road was nicknamed ...

at Yah-ta-hey and west to

Window Rock, Arizona Window Rock, known in Navajo language, Navajo as Tségháhoodzání (), is a city and census-designated place that serves as the capital of the Navajo Nation, the largest List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States, Nativ ...

, capital of the Navajo Nation. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Rock Springs CDP has a total area of , all land. The area is drained by Burned Death Wash, which runs south to Defiance Draw, a tributary of the

Puerco River The Puerco River or Rio Puerco is a tributary of the Little Colorado River in northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. It flows through arid terrain, including the Painted Desert. Name The Puerco River is sometimes called Rio Puerco ...

and part of the

Little Colorado River The Little Colorado River () is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in ...

watershed.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 558 people, 132 households, and 114 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 189 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 99.64% Native American, 0.18%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.18% from other races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.61% of the population. There were 132 households, out of which 68.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 28.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.6% were non-families. 11.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.23 and the average family size was 4.51. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 47.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 11.1% from 45 to 64, and 2.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 20 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $26,429, and the median income for a family was $24,271. Males had a median income of $24,250 versus $22,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $6,499. About 39.0% of families and 44.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 51.0% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in

Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools Gallup-McKinley County Schools (GMCS) is a school district based in Gallup, New Mexico which serves students from Gallup and surrounding areas of McKinley County. History Prior to 1980, the district had of land. That year parts left to form t ...

References

External links

Rock Springs Chapter official website
{{authority control Census-designated places in McKinley County, New Mexico Census-designated places in New Mexico