Alamogordo is located in Otero County,is the county seat, and is in the Southwest New Mexico region. It lies northeast of Las Cruces in the Tularosa Basin, along U.S. Highway 70. The city also is near White Sands National Monument and Mescalero Indian Reservation.

Alamogordo means "fat cottonwood" in Spanish. The city was established in 1898 with the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Alamogordo is near the Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.

Today Alamogordo, population 35,582, is the trading center of an agricultural and ranching region. Nearby Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range also contribute to its economy. Alamogordo is home to the New Mexico School for the Visually Handicapped and a New Mexico State University campus. Blessed by a moderate high-desert climate, the city enjoys 350 days of sunshine a year.

Attractions include the Tularosa Basin Historical Society Museum, Toy Train Depot and Founders Park.