ROOSEVELT

county, in the High Plains of eastern New Mexico, U.S., bordered on the east by Texas. It is located on the Llano Estacado, or Staked Plain, a flat landscape very gradually ascending from the southeast to the northwest. The county includes Salt Lake, site of Grulla National Wildlife Refuge, and several smaller lakes. Melrose Bombing Range and Oasis State Park are also within its borders. Comanche Indians hunted buffalo in the Roosevelt county region before white buffalo hunters arrived after the American Civil War. The first permanent European settler arrived in 1880, and soon underground water was discovered. Irrigation, however, did not become practical until the mid-1900s. Roosevelt county was established in 1903 and named for Theodore Roosevelt, then president of the United States. Agriculture (cattle, milk, cotton, grain, sorghum) is essential to the economy. Eastern New Mexico University (founded 1927) is located at the county seat, Portales. Area 2,449 square miles (6,342 square km). Pop. (1990) 16,702.