LEA

county in the High Plains of southeastern New Mexico, U.S., bordered on the east and south by Texas. The northwestern area of the county is located on the Llano Estacado, or Staked Plain, above the Mescalero Escarpment at over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level; the land slopes to the southeast to under 3,000 feet. There are no streams in Lea county, which includes several dry lakes and creek beds, but it is situated over deep groundwater that is utilized for irrigation. County recreation areas include Harry McAdams State Park. As early as 12,000 BC, prehistoric hunters of buffalo, camels, and mammoths roamed the Lea county region. Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa Indians continued to hunt buffalo there until white hunters decimated the herds in the 1880s. Ranching was begun early in the 20th century, and the county was established in 1917. An oil well began gushing at Maljamar in 1926. Six years later, pipelines extended into Lea county to transport crude oil eastward, and petroleum and natural-gas production remain the leading factors in the county's prosperity; agriculture (cattle, milk, cotton, fruit, vegetables) also is an important contributor. Lovington is the county seat, and Hobbs, site of the College of the Southwest, is the largest city. Area 4,393 square miles (11,379 square km). Pop. (1990) 55,765.