Crime Scene & Biohazard Cleanup Near West Datil Datil, NM

Datil is a census-designated place (CDP) in Catron County, New Mexico, in the state's mountainous west.

The 2020 census counted 50 residents in Datil, slightly fewer than the 54 counted in the 2010 census.

The CDP covers 1.87 square miles at an elevation of about 7,441 feet.

Datil is named for the nearby Datil Mountains, whose name comes from the Spanish word dátil, meaning "date," most likely because the seedpods of local yucca plants look like the fruit.

The community stands at the intersection of U.S. Route 60 and New Mexico State Road 12, on the edge of the Cibola National Forest.

Datil lay along the old Magdalena Stock Driveway, a cattle trail with wells spaced about every ten miles, used from the late 19th to the mid-20th century to drive cattle from Springerville, Arizona, to the railroad at Magdalena.

The Bureau of Land Management maintains the Datil Well Campground, about a mile west of town, at the site of one of the stock driveway's former wells.

East of Datil stretch the Plains of San Agustin, home to the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, a radio astronomy observatory of 27 large dish antennas arranged in a Y shape, about 15 miles away.

Quemado Schools operates Datil Elementary School, a two-room schoolhouse with multi-level classes; older students attend school in Quemado.

Local landmarks include the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictured in views of the community beneath the Datil Mountains.