New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the southwestern United States. Both English and Spanish are official languages in the state; its Spanish name is Nuevo México.
History
New Mexico is centered on the Rio Grande valley, the historical center of Spanish settlement and conquest of the Pueblo people, Native American tribes who lived in small towns along the Rio Grande and nearby as at Acoma. Spanish conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado explored the upper Rio Grande valley in 1540-1542 in search of the fabled seven cities of gold. Juan de Oñate led a Spanish colony on the Rio Grande in 1598, the first European settlement in the future state of New Mexico. Other Spanish colonists founded the regional capital, Santa Fe, in 1610. Napoleon Bonaparte of France sold the vast Louisiana Purchase to the United States in 1803. This enormous Louisiana territory extended into the northeastern corner of New Mexico; the rest of New Mexico remained a part of New Spain and, following the 1810-1821 Mexican War of Independence, remained a part of independent Mexico. Small trapping parties from the United States had previously reached Santa Fe, but the Spanish rulers forbade them to trade. Trader William Becknell returned to the United States in November 1821 with news that independent Mexico welcomed trade through Santa Fe. Becknell left Independence, Missouri, for Santa Fe early in 1822 with the first party of traders. Wagon caravans thereafter made the 40- to 60-day annual trek along the 780-mile Santa Fe Trail, usually leaving in early summer and returning after a 4- to 5-week stay in New Mexico. The Trail divided into Mountain and Cimarron Divisions southwest of Dodge City, Kansas. The rugged Mountain Division passed over Raton Pass and rejoined the more direct Cimarron Division near Fort Union, New Mexico. The dry southern Cimmaron route offered poor short grass and little wildlife. The Santa Fe National Historic Trail follows the route of the old trail, with many sites marked or restored. The breakaway Republic of Texas claimed the territory north and east of the Rio Grande when it seceeded from Mexico in 1836. After winning the Mexican-American War in 1848, the United States acquired most of the American Southwest under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This new territory included most of the western half of present-day New Mexico. Texas transferred eastern New Mexico to the federal government in 1850. The U.S. government established the Territory of New Mexico on September 9, 1850. Although the Missouri Compromise automatically allowed slavery here, it did not take a significant hold. The United States acquired the southwestern "boot heel" of the state and much of southern Arizona in the Gadsden Purchase of 1853. With this purchase, the USA established its sovereignty over all of the present state of New Mexico. Tierra O Muerte – Land or Death Union troops captured the territory from the Confederates during the American Civil War. The Santa Fe Railroad reached Santa Fe in 1880, replacing the storied Santa Fe Trail. The Apache Wars, among the final Indian conflicts in the American West, ended with the surrender of Geronimo in 1886. Congress admitted New Mexico as the 47th state in the Union on January 6, 1912. The State of Arizona, administered as part of the New Mexico territory, joined the Union on February 14, 1912. During the Second World War, the United States military detonated the first atomic bomb at Trinity site in the desert on the Alamogordo Test Range on July 16, 1945. The state soon emerged as a leader in energy research and development, home of both Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. These laboratories advance nuclear, solar, and geothermal energy technologies.Law and government
The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe. Governor Bill Richardson and Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, both Democrats, will face re-election in 2006. For a list of past governors of the State of New Mexico, see List of New Mexico Governors. Other Constitutional officers, all of whose terms also expire in January 2007, include Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, Attorney General Patricia A. Madrid, and State Treasurer Robert E. Vigil. All three are Democrats. New Mexico sends Democrat Jeff Bingaman to the United States Senate until January 2007 and Republican Pete V. Domenici until January 2009. Republicans Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson and Democrat Tom Udall represent the Land of Enchantment in the United States House of Representatives.Geography
See: List of New Mexico counties Digitally colored elevation map of NM New Mexico borders Mexico on the south. The eastern border with Oklahoma lies along 103° W, and the Texas frontier runs 3 miles west of 103° W. The western border with Arizona runs along 109° W. The parallel of 37 °N latitude forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in the northwestern corner of New Mexico. The landscape ranges from wide, rose-colored deserts to broken mesas to high, snow-capped peaks. Despite New Mexico's arid image, heavily forested mountain wildernesses cover a significant portion of the state. Part of the Rocky Mountains, the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) range constitutes a broken group running north-to-south through the center of the state, flanking both sides of the Rio Grande. Cacti, yuccas, creosote bush, sagebrush, and desert grasses cover the broad, semiarid plains that cover the southern portion of the state. The Federal government protects millions of acres of beautiful New Mexico as national forests and monuments. The natural attractions of New Mexico include Carlsbad Caverns National Park and the Aztec Ruins National Monument. Thousands of tourists annually visit the White Sands National Monument, Bandelier, Capulin Volcano National Monument, El Morro. The rich history of New Mexico also attracts visitors to such places as Fort Union, Gila Cliff Dwellings, and Salinas Pueblo Missions national monuments and Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Visitors also frequent the surviving native pueblos of New Mexico. Tourists visiting these sites bring significant monies to the state. Other areas of geographical and scenic interest include Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The Gila Wilderness lies in the southwest of the state.Interstate highways
United States highways
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Economy
New Mexico's 1999 total gross state product was $51 billion, placing it 38th in the nation. Its 2000 per capita personal income was $22,203, 48th in the nation. Cattle and dairy products top the list of major animal products of New Mexico. Because much of the state lacks sufficient water for irrigation, livestock graxe most of the arable land of the state. Cattle and sheep graze the open range throughout the year. Major crops include hay, nursery stock, pecans, and chiles. Hay and sorghum top the list of major dryland crops. Farmers also produce onions, potatoes, and dairy products. New Mexico specialty crops include piñon nuts, pinto beans, and chilis. In the desert and semiarid portions of the state, the scant rainfall evaporates rapidly, keeping water rather rare. The Carlsbad and Fort Sumner reclamation projects on the Pecos River and the nearby Tucumcari project provide adequate water for some irrigation. The Elephant Butte Dam, upstream of Las Cruces provides a major irrigation source for the extensive farming on the Rio Grande. Other irrigation projects use the Colorado River basin and the San Juan River. Pinewood is the chief commercial wood. New Mexicans derive much of their income from mineral extraction. Even before European exploration, Native Americans used silver and turquoise in making jewelry. New Mexico produces uranium ore, manganese ore, potash, salt, perlite, copper ore, beryllium, and tin concentrates. Natural gas, petroleum, and coal are also found in smaller quantities. Industrial outputs, centered around Albuquerque, include electric equipment; petroleum and coal products; food processing; printing and publishing; and stone, glass, and clay products. Defense-related industries include ordnance and important high-technology manufacturing. Federal government spending drives the New Mexico economy and provides more than a quarter of the state's jobs. Many of the federal jobs relate to the military; the state hosts several air force bases, national observatories, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. These installations include the missile and spacecraft proving grounds at White Sands. Tourism also provides many service jobs. The warm, semiarid climate and exploded population have attracted new industries to New Mexico. Despite the impact of these facilities, many communities in New Mexico, particularly in heavily Native American and Hispanic rural areas, are economically underdeveloped.Demographics
According to the Census Bureau, as of the 2003, the population of New Mexico was 1,874,614. The population of New Mexico has grown 23.7% from its 1990 levels. The racial makeup of the state is: The 5 largest ancestry groups in New Mexico are Mexican (18.1%), German (9.9%), American Indian (9.5%), Spanish (9.3%), English (7.6%). 7.2% of New Mexico's population were reported as under 5, 28% under 18, and 11.7% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.8% of the population.New Mexico's Hispanic community
In many communities of Northern New Mexico, the Hispanic population consists of the descendants of Spanish colonizers who settled the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the southern part of the state, the Hispanic population is mostly derived from Mexican immigration during the 20th century. The Native American population consists of Pueblo Indians (some living in communities dating from before European settlement), and the Navajo and Apache, both of Athabaskan origin. The presence of various ancient Native American communities, the long-established Spanish and Mexican influence, and the diversity of Anglo-American settlement in the region, ranging from pioneer farmers and ranchers in the territorial period to military families in later decades, make New Mexico a particularly heterogeneous state.Religion
The religious affiliations of the citizens of New Mexico are:- Protestant – 44%
- Roman Catholic – 37%
- Other Christian – 4%
- Other Religions – 1%
- Non-Religious – 11%
Important cities and towns
New Mexico The largest (by far) city in New Mexico is Albuquerque. Each city or urbanized area named in bold has a population at least 100,000.25 Richest Places in New Mexico
Ranked by per capita income 1 Tesuque, New Mexico $52,4732 Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico $43,143
3 Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico $40,883
4 White Rock, New Mexico $36,288
5 Placitas, New Mexico $36,243
6 Corona, New Mexico $34,987
7 Los Alamos, New Mexico $34,240
8 Corrales, New Mexico $33,629
9 Eldorado at Santa Fe, New Mexico $33,107
10 Angel Fire, New Mexico $29,614
11 Galisteo, New Mexico $27,719
12 Cedar Crest, New Mexico $27,263
13 Carlsbad North, New Mexico $27,192
14 Chupadero, New Mexico $26,915
15 Yah-ta-hey, New Mexico $26,307
16 Mesilla, New Mexico $25,922
17 Canada de los Alamos, New Mexico $25,707
18 Santa Fe, New Mexico $25,454
19 Santa Teresa, New Mexico $24,561
20 House, New Mexico $24,300
21 Virden, New Mexico $23,184
22 Jaconita, New Mexico $22,888
23 Ruidoso, New Mexico $22,721
24 Grenville, New Mexico $21,536
25 Elephant Butte, New Mexico $21,345
See complete list of New Mexico places
Education
Colleges and universities
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Miscellaneous information
Welcome to New Mexico Hasta la VistaOfficial state symbols
The state nickname is "Land of Enchantment;" the state motto is "Crescit Eundo (It Grows as It Goes)." The state symbols include:| State songs | “O Fair New Mexico” | 1917 |
| “Asi Es Nuevo Méjico” | 1971 | |
| “New Mexico—Mi Lindo Nuevo Mexico” | 1995 | |
| State flower | Yucca flower | 1927 |
| State tree | Two-Needle Piñon pine | 1949 |
| State bird | Chaparral (Roadrunner) | 1949 |
| State fish | Cutthroat trout | 1955 |
| State animal | black bear | 1963 |
| State vegetables | chile and frijol | 1965 |
| State gem | turquoise | 1967 |
| State grass | blue gramma | 1973 |
| State fossil | coelophysis | 1981 |
| State cookie | bizcochito | 1989 |
| State insect | tarantula hawk wasp | 1989 |
| State ballad | "Land of Enchantment" | 1989 |
| State poem | A Nuevo México | 1991 |
| State question | “Red or Green?” | 1999 |
Further reading
- The Great Taos Bank Robbery and other Indian Country Affairs, Tony Hillerman, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1973, trade paperback, 147 pages, ( Order: ISBN 082630530X)
- Great River, The Rio Grande in North American History, Paul Horgan, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, reprint, 1977, in one hardback volume, ( Order: ISBN 0030293057)
External link
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