Taos is a small town in northern New Mexico, located near the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. On its northern edge lies Taos Pueblo, one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States, with over a thousand years of history. Taos is known for its art scene, but it is also known for a strange phenomenon: the Taos Hum.
In the early 1990s, residents of Taos began reporting a constant low sound with no clear source. Only a few people could hear it, estimates suggest that only about 1 in 50 people in affected areas perceive it. Descriptions differ widely, some call it a distant engine, others a faint vibration or buzzing tone. Some musically inclined locals say the sound seems to resonate near the pitch of E-flat. One poet, quoted in local reports, described it as “the frequency of love—just there, like gravity.”
Teams from the University of New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and the Air Force’s Phillips Laboratory carried out detailed measurements of sound, vibration, and electromagnetic activity around Taos. Their instruments detected no consistent or unusual signal. In the report’s conclusion, the researchers admitted that, despite extensive monitoring, “we are left with a mystery.”
The Taos Hum occurs at very low frequencies, roughly between 32 and 80 Hz, near the lower limit of human hearing. At these levels, sounds are harder for most people to detect, which may explain why only a small number of residents perceive the hum. Those who do often describe it as a rumble or vibration rather than a distinct tone. Some researchers believe the phenomenon could originate inside the human auditory system itself, through conditions such as tinnitus or spontaneous otoacoustic emissions, where the inner ear generates sound without any external source.
Unexplained low-frequency hums have been reported in other parts of the world, including Bristol (UK), Auckland (New Zealand), Frankfurt (Germany), and Windsor (Ontario, Canada). Scientists and enthusiasts have even created a World Hum Map, tracking thousands of locations where low-frequency hums are perceived. These sounds share several traits: they are low-pitched, persistent, and only audible to a small portion of the population. In some cases, investigations have traced the source to ordinary causes such as industrial machinery, airplane traffic, or high-pressure gas lines. In other cases, no clear explanation has been found despite detailed study.
Researchers and enthusiasts have proposed a variety of explanations for the Taos Hum, ranging from natural to man-made. Some suggest low-frequency noise from industrial equipment, vibrations caused by geological or atmospheric conditions, electromagnetic interference, or infrasound. Others point to psychoacoustic effects, in which certain people are more sensitive to extremely low tones than the average listener.
Some explanations venture into speculation, including ideas about secret military experiments, psychological operations, or even alien technology, though none of these have been substantiated. On the scientific side, research in neurology and psychology shows that the brain can produce the perception of sound from subtle internal or external cues, which may account for some reports of the hum.
Reactions to the Taos Hum vary widely. Some residents describe it as calming or even meditative, while others have chosen to leave the area because of the persistent low-frequency noise. People who hear it sometimes experience sleep disturbances, distraction, or anxiety. Its origin remains unresolved, capturing both scientific and public curiosity. Whether it stems from natural processes, individual perception, or an unknown source, the hum continues to linger as an enigmatic presence in the New Mexico desert.
If you do hear the Hum and it’s bothering you, practical steps you can take are outlined in this guide.
For a more in-depth exploration of the Hum itself, see this detailed article.
