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. In
1540, the Spanish conquistador Coronado trekked through the area known today
as New Mexico in search of the fabled seven cities of gold.
The incorporation of the modern-day state's territory into the United States
was a gradual process. The northeastern corner was ceded by France in 1803
as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The remainder of what is now New Mexico
was then wholly claimed by the Spanish colony of New Spain and its successor
state (after 1810), the Republic of Mexico. The incorporation of this
territory into the USA came in three stages: the portion to the east of the
Rio Grande was claimed by the breakaway Republic of Texas when it seceded
from Mexico in 1836; this territory was transferred to the federal
government by Texas in 1850.
Most of the western portion of the state (to the west of the river) was
surrendered by Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of
the Mexican-American War in 1848. Finally, the southwestern corner of the
state (the "boot heel") was ceded by Mexico under the 1853 Gadsden Purchase.
The Territory of New Mexico was established on September 9, 1850; under the
terms of the Missouri Compromise, slavery was legal in the territory, but
does not appear to have taken significant hold there. The eastern half of
the territory became the State of New Mexico, which was admitted to the
Union as its 47th member on January 6, 1912, the western half being admitted
separately as the 48th state of Arizona on February 14, 1912.
New Mexico is home to two national laboratories, Sandia National
Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity site in the desert on the
Alamogordo Test Range on July 16, 1945.
Law and government
The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe and its governor is Bill Richardson, a
Democrat. Its two U.S. senators are Jeff Bingaman (Democrat) and Pete V.
Domenici (Republican). List of New Mexico Governors.
Geography
It has a southern border with Mexico, an eastern border with Texas (103°)
and Oklahoma, and a western border with Arizona (109°). The 37th parallel
forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The spot where New Mexico,
Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together is called the Four Corners. The
landscape ranges from rose-colored deserts to mountains that are snow-capped
most of the year. Despite New Mexico's arid image, forests cover a
significant portion of the state.
New Mexico's areas of geographical and scenic interest include White Sands
National Monument, Capulin Volcano National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns
National Park, the Valles Caldera National Preserve, the Gila wilderness,
and Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
Interstate highways
Interstate 10
Interstate 25
Interstate 40
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United States highways
North-south routes East-west routes
U.S. Highway 285
U.S. Highway 491
U.S. Highway 550
U.S. Highway 54
U.S. Highway 56
U.S. Highway 60
U.S. Highway 62
U.S. Highway 64
U.S. Highway 66
(historic Route 66)
U.S. Highway 70
U.S. Highway 80
U.S. Highway 180
U.S. Highway 380
U.S. Highway 82
U.S. Highway 84
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. The state's main agricultural outputs are cattle, dairy products,
hay, nursery stock, pecans and chiles. Its industrial outputs are electric
equipment; petroleum and coal products; food processing; printing and
publishing; and stone, glass, and clay products. Tourism is an important
source of service jobs.
Access to water is a chronic problem in the southwest; to address this
problem, the Elephant Butte Dam and Reservoir impounds the waters of Rio
Grande, north of Las Cruces.
New Mexico's economy is heavily tied to government and military spending,
with federal properties such as the nuclear laboratories at Los Alamos and
the missile and spacecraft proving grounds at White Sands adding greatly to
local economies.
Despite the impact of these facilities, many communities in New Mexico,
particularly in heavily Native American and Hispanic rural areas, are
economically underdeveloped.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, the population of New Mexico is 1,819,046. Its
population grew 20.1% (303,977) from its 1990 levels. According to the 2000
census, 66.8% (1,214,253) identified themselves as White, 42.1% (765,386) as
Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% (173,483) as American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.9%
(34,343) as black, 1.1% (19,255) as Asian, 0.1% (1,503) as Native Hawaiian
or Pacific Islander 17% (309,882) as other, and 3.6% (66,327) identified
themselves as belonging to two or more races.
7.2% of its 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.
In many communities of Northern New Mexico, the Hispanic population consists
of the descendants of Spanish colonizers who settled the region in the 17th
century and 18th century. In the southern region 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 Athapascan 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.
Important cities and towns
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.
Albuquerque
Rio Rancho
South Valley
North Valley
Las Cruces
Sunland Park
Santa Fe
Farmington
Roswell
Clovis
Alamogordo
Los Lunas
Hobbs
Carlsbad
Espanola
Gallup
Las Vegas
Deming
Belen
Taos
Silver City
Portales
Artesia
Los Alamos
Grants
Education
Colleges and universities
College of Santa Fe
College of the Southwest
Eastern New Mexico University
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
New Mexico Highlands University
New Mexico Military Institute
New Mexico State University
St. John's College Santa Fe
University of New Mexico
Western New Mexico University
Miscellaneous information
State Bird: Roadrunner
State Flower: Yucca flower
State Tree: Two-Needle Pinyon pine
State Insect: Tarantula hawk wasp
State Fish: Cutthroat trout
State Vegetables: Chile pepper and pinto bean
Some fauna
Gila monster
