Villanueva, NM

Villanueva is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. The 2020 census counted 207 residents. Known as La Cuesta until 1890, it is located along the Pecos River and New Mexico State Road 3. Prior to 1786, when a peace treaty was concluded with the Comanche, Spanish settlements in New Mexico were confined to the Rio Grande valley. East of Villanueva is Villanueva State Park, a colorful canyon cut by the Pecos River. West Las Vegas High School is the area high school.

A newcomer can read Villanueva through the overlap of its older landmarks, surrounding geography, and current places. For a newcomer, Villanueva comes into focus through those concrete links among its past, landscape, and current routines. Villanueva was one of the settlements founded in the Pecos River Valley as part of that expansion. Villanueva has a BWk under the Köppen climate classification system. Under the Trewartha climate classification Villanueva has a BSK.