Only 2 New Mexico Cities Made The Highest US Cities List? 2??

No, this has nothing to do with the the fact that marijuana is legal in New Mexico. If that was the case, El Paso would be the "highest" city in Texas.

New Mexico is loaded with dispensaries, (many of which are practically in El Paso), but having the highest cities has nothing to do with any sort of intoxication ... it's all about elevation.

The highest US cities are, literally, high and New Mexico has more than they're getting credit for.

A cities "elevation" is its distance above sea level. Trans Mountain road, at its highest point, is around 5.154 feet, (just about a mile), above sea level. The rest of El Paso sits lower but some entire cities sit at, or even above, the "mile high" mark.

What Cities Are The "Highest" In The USA?

According to backroadplanet.com, the 9 highest cities in the USA are:

1. Leadville, Colorado - 10,152 feet
2. Aspen, Colorado - 7,908
3. Mammoth Lakes, California - 7,880 feet
4. Santa Fe, New Mexico - 7,199
5. Park City, Utah - 7,000
6. Taos, New Mexico - 6,967
7. Flagstaff, Arizona - 6,910 feet
8. Big Bear Lake, California - 6,752
9. South Lake Tahoe, California - 6,237

The land of enchantment holds 2 spots but, not so fast backroadplanet ...

READ MORE: New Mexico's Biggest Dispensary Is In Sunland Park

Why Is This Wrong?

The backroadplanet list gives altitudes for some of its cities that fall below 3 other New Mexico cities. I won't call them liars but several sources including the city of Cloudcroft, say differently.

Based on this list., the top 9 is practically all Colorado but New Mexico still holds 2 spots on it. There should be several more though, here's what happens if you modify the backrodas list accordingly.

What Are New Mexico's Highest Cities?

Given the new data, New Mexico practically owns the top 9 list backroads posted. Here's how their list looks when you add what they left out:

1. Leadville, Co - 10,152 feet
2. Taos, (Ski Valley), NM - 9,521
3. Cloudcroft, NM - 8,600 feet
4. Red River, NM - 8,750 feet
5. Angel Fire  NM - 8,500 feet
6. Eagle Nest, NM - 8,200 feet
7. Aspen, Co - 7,908 feet
8. Mammoth Lakes, Ca - 7,880 feet
9. Santa Fe, NM - 7,199 feet

I actually had to make it a top 11 in order to keep the village of Taos, (from the original top 9 list), included. They placed 11th at 6,967 feet after Park City, Utah. (7,000 feet.)