An Anaheim pepper is a mild variety of the New Mexico chile pepper. The name Anaheim
derives from Emilio Ortega, a farmer who brought the seeds to the Anaheim, California, area in the early 1900s. They are also called California chile or Magdalena, and dried as chile seco del norte. Since Anaheim peppers originated from New Mexico, they are also sometimes known as New Mexico peppers. Additionally, in New Mexico they are often referred to simply as chile
because they are so ubiquitous. Varieties of the pepper grown in New Mexico tend to be hotter than those grown in California.
The chile "heat" of Anaheims typically ranges from 500 to 2,500 on the Scoville scale; however, cultivars grown in New Mexico range from 500 to 10,000 Scoville units.