The city is located on the western edge of the Llano Estacado or "staked plains" of eastern New Mexico and west Texas.

The first Euro-American settlement in the area was Agua Negra Chiquita,[citation needed] "Little Black Water" in Spanish, in 1865.

The name was changed in 1890 to Santa Rosa (Spanish for "Saint Rose"), referring to a chapel that Don Celso Baca (the founder of the city) built and named after both his mother Rosa and Saint Rose of Lima.

[6] The "Rosa" may also refer to the roses in the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and is indicative of the Catholicism of the Spanish colonizers who settled in the area.

Santa Rosa was smaller than Puerto de Luna until 1901 when the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad was extended into Santa Rosa from the east, quickly followed by arrival of the El Paso and Northeastern Railway in February 1902, from the southwest, thereby creating a transcontinental connection.

The east–west highway through the town was designated as U.S. Route 66 in 1926, and the increase in traffic made the community a popular rest stop with motels and cafes.

Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) watches a freight train steam over the Pecos River railroad bridge, into the sunset.

Santa Rosa was the childhood home of author Rudolfo Anaya, and is the basis for the fictional town of Guadalupe in his autobiographical novel Bless Me, Ultima.

These are sinkholes that form in the limestone bedrock of the area and fill with water, and thus the lakes are connected by a network of underground, water-filled tunnels.

The most famous of these is Blue Hole, a popular spot for diving, where cool 61 °F (16 °C) water forms a lake over 81 feet (25 m) deep.

[14] Santa Rosa High School was also among the first in the country to establish a lawn mower racing club.