Añal is a ghost town in De Baca County, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Añal was located between Alamo and Fort Sumner, on the Arroyo de Añil — a tributary of the Pecos River — after which it is named,[1] but the town's precise location is unknown to the GNIS.[2]

Etymology

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The etymon 'añil' refers to sunflowers in New Mexican Spanish. A post office called Anal (without the tilde) was established in 1916, and remained in operation until 1934.[3] It was an unknown postmaster who first transcribed the name without i, according to an eye dialect.

References

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  1. ^ The place names of New Mexico (2 ed.). p. 15.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Añal (historical)
  3. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Anal Post Office (historical)

34°34′28″N 104°14′53″W / 34.5743153°N 104.248106°W / 34.5743153; -104.248106