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New Mexico
*** Shopping-Tip: New Mexico
{{US state |
Name = New Mexico |
Fullname = State of New Mexico |
Flag = Flag of New Mexico.svg |
Flaglink =
Flag of New Mexico |
Seal = New Mexico state seal.png |
Map = Map of USA highlighting New Mexico.png |
Nickname = Land of Enchantment |
Motto = Crescit eundo (It grows as it goes) |
Capital =
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe |
LargestCity =
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque |
Governor =
Bill Richardson (politician) Bill Richardson (D) |
Senators =
Pete Domenici (R)
Jeff Bingaman (D) |
PostalAbbreviation = NM |
OfficialLang = None;
English language English and
Spanish language Spanish ''de facto'' |
AreaRank = 5
th |
TotalArea = 315,194 |
LandArea = 314,590 |
WaterArea = 607 |
PCWater = 0.2 |
PopRank = 36
th |
2000Pop = 1,819,046 |
DensityRank = 45
th |
2000Density = 5.79 |
AdmittanceOrder = 47
th |
AdmittanceDate =
January 6,
1912 |
TimeZone =
Mountain Standard Time Zone Mountain:
UTC-7/
Daylight saving time -6 |
Longitude = 103°W to 109°W |
Latitude = 31°20'N to 37°N |
Width = 550 |
Length = 595 |
HighestElev =
Wheeler Peak, 13,161 ft, 4,014 |
MeanElev = 5,692 ft, 1735 |
LowestElev = Red Bluff Reservoir, 2,817 ft, 859 |
ISOCode = US-NM |
Website = www.state.nm.us
}}
'''New Mexico''' (
Spanish language Spanish: '''''Nuevo México''''') is a
Southwestern United States southwestern state in the
United States of America. Over its relatively long history it has also been occupied by
Native Americans in the United States U.S. Amerindian populations, part of the
Spanish Empire Spanish viceroyalty of
New Spain, a province of
Mexico, and a
United States territory U.S. territory. New Mexico has the highest percentage of people of
Hispanic ancestry of any state, some recent immigrants and others descendants of
Spanish Empire Spanish colonists. The state also has a large
Native Americans in the United States U.S. Amerindian population. As a result, the demographics and culture of the state are unique for their strong Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. Amerindian cultural influences.
History
Amerindian Pueblos
Prehistoric Amerindians used the land and minerals of New Mexico to build an early Southwestern culture millennia ago. Prehistoric
Amerindian ruins indicate a presence at modern Santa Fe. Caves in the
Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque contain the remains of some of the earliest inhabitants of the New World. The
Pueblo people built a flourishing sedentary culture in the
1200s, constructing small towns in the valley of the
Rio Grande and pueblos nearby.
The
Spain Spanish encountered Pueblo civilization in the
1500s. Word of the pueblos reached
Cabeza de Vaca, a Spanish explorer, while travelling with his companion Estabanico in
1528–
1536.
Marcos de Niza Fray Marcos de Niza enthusiastically identified the pueblos as the fabulously rich
Quivira and CÃbola Seven Cities of CÃbola, the fabled seven cities of gold. Dispatched from
New Spain,
conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led a full-scale expedition to find these cities in
1540–
1542. Coronado camped near an excavated pueblo today preserved as
Coronado National Memorial in
1541. His maltreatment of the Pueblo people while exploring the upper Rio Grande valley led to hostility that impeded the Spanish conquest of New Mexico.
The three largest pueblos of New Mexico are Zuni, Santo Domingo, and Laguna.
Spanish colonization
Juan de Oñate founded the
San Juan, New Mexico San Juan colony on the Rio Grande in
1598, the first European settlement in the future state of New Mexico. Oñate pioneered
El Camino Real, "The Royal Road" as a 700 mile (1100 km) lifeline from the rest of
New Spain to his remote colony. Oñate was made the first governor of the new
Province of New Mexico. The Native Americans at
Acoma Pueblo Acoma revolted against this Spanish encroachment but faced severe suppression.
In
1609,
Pedro de Peralta, a later governor of the Province of New Mexico, established the settlement of
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe at the foot of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains. As the seat of government of New Mexico since its founding, Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States. Peralta built the
Palace of the Governors in
1610. Although the colony failed to prosper, some missions flourished. Spanish settlers arrived at the site of Albuquerque in the mid-
1600s. Missionaries attempted to convert the natives to Christianity but had little success [http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/pueblo/indianpueblohistory.htm]. The
Apache revolted violently in
1676, and the
Pueblo Revolt of
1680 drove the Spanish to abandon northern New Mexico until the campaign of
Diego de Vargas Zapata reestablished Spanish control and returned Spanish colonists in
1692.
While developing Santa Fe as a trade center, the returning settlers founded the old town of
Albuquerque in
1706, naming for the viceroy of New Spain, the Duke of Alburquerque. Prior to its founding Albuquerque consisted of several Haciendas and communities along the lower Rio Grande. They constructed the Church of San Felipe de Nerà (
1706). The thorough development of ranching and some farming in the
1700s laid the foundations for the state's still-flourishing Hispanic culture.
Mexican province
Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte of
France sold the vast
Louisiana Purchase, which extended into the northeastern corner of New Mexico, to the United States in
1803. As a part of
New Spain, the remainder of the province of New Mexico passed to independent Mexico following the
1810-1821
Mexican War of Independence.
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 (1,260 km)
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 Cimarron 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
Republic of Texas claimed the territory north and east of the
Rio Grande when it seceded from Mexico in
1836. New Mexico authorities captured a group of Texans who embarked an expedition to assert their claim to the province in
1841.
American territory
Image:Tierra o muerte.jpg thumb|128px|left|Tierra O Muerte – Land or Death. Some New Mexicans express dissatisfaction over land grant issues which date back to the Mexican War.
American General
Stephen W. Kearny marched down the Santa Fe Trail and entered
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe without opposition in
1846 during the
Mexican-American War, and his forces occupied the city, making New Mexico, which included present-day Arizona, a captive United States territory. Kearny asserted that his occupation was only of the eastern part of New Mexico (Texas, annexed by the United States in 1845, claimed all land on its side of the Rio Grande). He also protected citizens under martial law by the Kearny Code, essentially Kearny's promise that religious and legal conditions would not be disrupted by the United States. Though the reality of occupation soon included western New Mexico, the Kearny Code became one of the bases of New Mexico's legal code during its territorial period, the longest in United States history.
While Kearny's entrance into New Mexico was relatively peaceful, the region did not remain that way. General Kearny continued on to
California according to U.S. wartime strategy, guided by
Kit Carson, but leaving an occupying force behind. After Kearny's departure, a
Taos Revolt rebellion broke out in the town and pueblo of Taos, where Taos Indians killed Governor Charles Bent and all but two Americans in the town on January 19, 1847. Retaliating quickly, a U.S. detachment under Colonel
Sterling Price marched on Taos, attacked the town, and concentrated cannon fire upon the church, the center of the insurgency, resulting in the deaths of 150 insurgents and the capture of some 400 more. Six leaders were arraigned and, on February 9, hanged for their role in the
Taos Revolt. A series of skirmishes between mountain-based rebels and U.S. forces continued well into 1847, with casualties totaling more than 300 rebels and thirty "Anglos," as Americans were often called.
Under the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of
1848, Mexico ceded much of its northern holdings, today known as the
American Southwest to the United States of America in exchange for an end to hostilities and $15 million, plus the assumption of slightly more than $3 million in outstanding Mexican debts. New Mexico, the name given to the territory between Texas and California, was to quickly become a state according to the treaty, but the U.S. Senate unilaterally amended that provision during ratification proceedings. The Senate also struck out Article X of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which assured that land grants authorized by the Mexican government would be recognized and protected by the U.S. government. The decision to strike down Article X remains a controversial one, especially in some of the region's Hispanic communities, as it eventually led to millions of acres of land, timber, and water being removed from Mexican-issued land grants and placed in the public domain. Spanish-issued land grants, including those made to the Pueblos, have survived acquisition attempts.
The
Compromise of 1850 halted a bid for statehood under an antislavery constitution. Texas transferred eastern New Mexico to the federal government, settling a lengthy boundary dispute. Under the compromise, the American government established the
New Mexico Territory on
September 9,
1850. The territory, which included
Arizona and parts of
Colorado, officially established its capital at
Santa Fe, New Mexico in
1851. The people of New Mexico would determine whether to permit slavery under a constitution at statehood, but the status of slavery during the territorial period provoked considerable debate. Some (including
Stephen A. Douglas) maintained that the territory could not restrict slavery, as under the earlier
Missouri Compromise, while others (including
Abraham Lincoln) insisted that older Mexican legal traditions, which forbade slavery, took precedence. Regardless of its status, slavery never took a significant hold.
Native American plundering led
Kit Carson to abandon his intent to retire to a sheep ranch near
Taos, New Mexico Taos. Carson accepted an
1853 appointment as U.S. Indian agent with a headquarters at Taos, and fought the Indians with notable success.
The United States acquired the southwestern bootheel of the state and much of southern
Arizona in the
Gadsden Purchase of 1853. With this purchase, the United States established its sovereignty over all of the present state of New Mexico.
During the
American Civil War, Confederate troops from Texas first occupied southern New Mexico. Union troops re-captured the territory in early
1862.
Kit Carson helped to organize and command the 1st
New Mexican Volunteers to engage in campaigns against the
Apache,
Navajo Nation Navajo, and
Comanche in New Mexico and Texas as well as participating in the Battle of Valverde against the confederates. The
Arizona Territory split as a separate entity in
1863. Confederate troops withdrew after the
Battle of Glorieta Pass where
Union (ACW) Union regulars, Colorado Volunteers (The Pikes Peakers), and New Mexican Volunteers defeated them.
Image:AZ-NM1867.jpg 300px|thumb|left|1867 map
The
Roman Catholic Church established an archbishopric center in Santa Fe in
1875. The
Santa Fe Railroad reached
Lamy, New Mexico, 16 miles (26 km) from Santa Fe in
1879 and Santa Fe itself in
1880, replacing the storied
Santa Fe Trail. The new town of Albuquerque, platted in 1880 as the Santa Fe Railroad extended westward, quickly enveloped the old town.
The railway encouraged the great cattle boom of the
1880s and the development of accompanying cow towns. Cattlemen feuded between each other and with authorities, most notably in the
Lincoln County War. Outlaws included
Billy the Kid. The cattle kingdom could not keep out sheepherders, and eventually homesteaders and squatters overwhelmed the cattlemen by fencing in and plowing under the "sea of grass" on which the cattle fed. Conflicting land claims led to bitter quarrels among the original Spanish inhabitants, cattle ranchers, and newer homesteaders. Despite destructive overgrazing, ranching survived as a mainstay of the New Mexican economy.
Conflict with the
Apache and the
Navajo Nation Navajo plagued the territory until Apache chief
Geronimo finally surrendered in
1886.
Albuquerque, on the upper Rio Grande, incorporated in
1889.
Statehood
Congress admitted New Mexico as the 47th state in the Union on
January 6,
1912. The admission of the neighboring State of
Arizona on
February 14,
1912 completed the contiguous 48 states.
The United States government built the
Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos Research Center in
1943 amid the
Second World War. Top-secret personnel there developed the
atomic bomb, first detonated at
Trinity site in the desert on the
White Sands Missile Range White Sands Proving Grounds vaguely near
Alamogordo, New Mexico Alamogordo on
July 16,
1945.
Albuquerque expanded rapidly after the war. High-altitude experiments near
Roswell, New Mexico Roswell in
1947 reputedly led to persistent claims that the government captured and concealed extraterrestrial corpses and equipment. The state quickly emerged as a leader in nuclear, solar, and geothermal energy research and development. The
Sandia National Laboratories, founded in
1949, carried out nuclear research and special weapons development at
Kirtland Air Force Base south of Albuquerque.
The controversial
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, deep in salt formations near
Carlsbad, New Mexico Carlsbad readied for storage of nuclear wastes during the
1990s.
Law and government
Image:wiki_newmexico.jpg thumb|350px|Greetings from New Mexico
The
capital of New Mexico is
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe. The Constitution of
1912, as amended, dictates the form of government in the State.
Governor
Bill Richardson (politician) Bill Richardson and Lieutenant Governor
Diane Denish, both Democrats, will face re-election in 2006. Governors serve a term of four years and may seek reelection. 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
Douglas Brown. Vigil-Giron and Madrid are Democrats. Brown is a Republican serving as interim State Treasurer following the indictment and resignation of his predecessor, Democrat
Robert Vigil.
A state house of representatives with 70 members and a state senate with 42 members comprise the state legislature. The Democratic Party generally dominates state politics, and
as of 2004 50% of voters were registered Democrats, 33% were registered Republicans, and 17% did not affiliate with either of the two major parties.
In national politics, however, New Mexico occupies the dead center, giving its electoral votes to all but two Presidential election winners since statehood. In these exceptions, New Mexicans supported Republican President
Gerald Ford over Georgia Governor
Jimmy Carter in
1976, and Democratic Vice President
Al Gore over Texas Governor
George W. Bush (by just 366 popular votes) in
2000. No presidential candidate has won an absolute majority here since
George H. W. Bush in
1988, and no Democrat has done so since
Lyndon B. Johnson in
1964. In the last four elections, New Mexico supported Democrats in 1992, 1996, and 2000. New Mexico was one of only two states to support Al Gore in 2000 and George Bush in 2004 (the other state was
Iowa). In 2004, George W. Bush narrowly won the state's electoral votes by a margin of 0.8 percentage points with 49.8% of the vote. Democrat John Kerry won in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, two northwestern Indian counties, and by large margins in the six predominantly Hispano/Spanish counties of Northern New Mexico (Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Taos, Mora, San Miguel, and Guadalupe).
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
Image:Digital-elevation-map-new-mexico.gif thumb|Digitally colored elevation map of NM
Image:New_Mexico_population_map.png thumb|New Mexico Population Density Map
{{see|List of New Mexico counties}}
The eastern border of New Mexico lies along 103 °W with
Oklahoma, and 3 miles (5 km) west of 103 °W with Texas. Texas also lies south of most of New Mexico, although the southwestern boot-heel borders the Mexican states of
Chihuahua and
Sonora. The western border with
Arizona runs along 109 °W. The 37 °N parallel forms the northern boundary with
Colorado. The states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and
Utah come together at the
Four Corners (United States) 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 broken, north-south oriented
Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) range flanks both sides of the
Rio Grande from the rugged, pastoral north through the center of the state. Government lands include the
Cibola National Forest, headquartered in Albuquerque, and the
Santa Fe National Forest, headquartered in
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe.
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.
{{seealso|Delaware Basin}}
Interstate highway Interstate freeways & United States highway US highways
{| border="4" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"
| rowspan=4 | '''''Interstate Freeways'''''
|
Interstate 10
|-
|
Interstate 25
|-
|
Interstate 40
|-
| rowspan=14 | '''''U.S. Routes
East–West Routes'''''
|-
|
U.S. Route 550
|-
|
U.S. Route 54
|-
|
U.S. Route 56
|-
|
U.S. Route 60
|-
|
U.S. Route 62
|-
|
U.S. Route 64
|-
|
Old Highway 66('''''
Route 66 Historic Route 66''''')
|-
|
U.S. Route 70
|-
|
U.S. Route 80
|-
|
U.S. Route 180
|-
|
U.S. Route 380
|-
|
U.S. Route 82
|-
|
U.S. Route 84
|-
| rowspan=3 | '''''U.S. Routes
North–South Routes'''''
|-
|
U.S. Route 285
|-
|
U.S. Route 491
|}
{{seealso|List of New Mexico highways}}
Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Mexico's total state product in 2003 was $57 billion. Per capital personal income in 2003 was $24,995, 48
th in the nation. [http://www.bea.gov/]
{| class="toccolours" align="right" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin:0 0 1em 1em; font-size: 95%;"
|-
! colspan=2 bgcolor="#ccccff" align="center"| New Mexico Industries by 2004 Taxable Gross Receipts (000s)
|-
|Retail Trade ||align="right" | 12,287,061
|-
|Construction ||align="right" | 5,039,555
|-
|Other Services (excluding Public Administration) ||align="right" | 4,939,187
|-
|Professional, Scientific and Technology Services ||align="right" | 3,708,527
|-
|Accommodation and Food Services ||align="right" | 2,438,460
|-
|Wholesale Trade ||align="right" | 2,146,066
|-
|Health Care and Social Assistance ||align="right" | 1,897,471
|-
|Utilities ||align="right" | 1,654,483
|-
|Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction ||align="right" | 1,238,211
|-
|Manufacturing ||align="right" | 926,372
|-
|Information and Cultural Industries ||align="right" | 849,902
|-
|Unclassified Establishments ||align="right" | 725,405
|-
|Real Estate and Rental and Leasing ||align="right" | 544,739
|-
|Finance and Insurance ||align="right" | 254,223
|-
|Transportation and Warehousing ||align="right" | 221,457
|-
|Public Administration ||align="right" | 159,013
|-
|Educational Services ||align="right" | 125,649
|-
|Arts, Entertainment and Recreation ||align="right" | 124,017
|-
|Admin & Support, Waste Management & Remediation ||align="right" | 73,062
|-
|Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting ||align="right" | 71,853
|-
|Management of Companies and Enterprises ||align="right" | 48,714
|-
| colspan=2|
|-
|Totals ||align="right" | 39,473,429
|-
|colspan=2 bgcolor="#ccccff" align="right"|
'''Source:''' State of New Mexico Department of Labor [http://www.dol.state.nm.us/]
|}
Cattle and dairy products top the list of major animal products of New Mexico. Cattle, sheep, and other livestock graze most of the arable land of the state throughout the year.
Limited but scientifically controlled dryland farming prospers alongside cattle ranching. Major crops include hay, nursery stock, pecans, and
chile peppers. Hay and
sorghum top the list of major dryland crops. Farmers also produce onions, potatoes, and dairy products. New Mexico specialty crops include
pine nut piñon nuts,
Common bean pinto beans, and chiles.
In the desert and semiarid portions of the state, the scant rainfall evaporates rapidly, generally leaving insufficient water supplies for large-scale irrigation. The Carlsbad and Fort Sumner reclamation projects on the
Pecos River and the nearby Tucumcari project provide adequate water for limited irrigation in those areas. Located upstream of
Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces, the
Elephant Butte Dam and Reservoir provides a major irrigation source for the extensive farming along the
Rio Grande. Other irrigation projects use the
Colorado River basin and the
San Juan River.
Lumber mills in
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque process pinewood, the chief commercial wood of the rich timber economy of northern New Mexico.
New Mexicans derive much of their income from mineral extraction. Even before European exploration, Native Americans mined turquoise for making jewelry, and later silver [http://www.americana.net/jewelry_history_article.html]. 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. Important high-technology industries include lasers, data processing, and solar energy.
Federal government spending is a major driver of 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 three air force bases (
Kirtland Air Force Base,
Holloman Air Force Base, and
Cannon Air Force Base), a testing range (
White Sands Missile Range), an army proving ground and maneuver range (Fort Bliss Military Reservation - McGregor Range) national observatories, and the technology labs of
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). SNL conducts electronic and industrial research next to Kirtland AFB, on the southeast side of Albuquerque. These installations also include the missile and spacecraft proving grounds at
White Sands Missile Range White Sands. In addition to the military employers, other federal agencies such as the
National Park Service, the
United States Forest Service, and the
United States Bureau of Land Management are a big part of the states rural employment base.
Virgin Galactic, the first company to develop commercial flights into space, has decided to put its world headquarters and mission control is southern New Mexico (25 miles south of
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico Truth or Consequences).
Tourism provides many service jobs. For top attractions see:
New Mexico#Tourism Tourism.
The private service economy in urban New Mexico has boomed in recent decades. Since the end of
World War II Albuquerque has gained an ever-growing number of retirees, especially among armed forces veterans and government workers. The city is also increasingly gaining notoriety as a health conscious community, and contains many hospitals and a high per capita number of massage and alternative therapists. The warm, semiarid climate has contributed to the exploding population of Albuquerque, attracting new industries to New Mexico. By contrast, many heavily Native American and Hispanic rural communities remain economically underdeveloped.
Largest employers
(Not ranked by size)
*Northern
**College of Santa Fe
**Boy Scouts of America
**U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
**Mesa Air Group
**Navajo Nation
**Los Alamos National Laboratory
*Central
**PNM Resources and PNM Electric & Gas Services
**Presbyterian Health Plan
**Sandia National Laboratories
**Intel
**University of New Mexico
**New Mexico State Government
*Eastern
**Albertson's Supermarket
**Kmart Corporation
**U.S. Postal Service
**Wal-Mart
**Navajo Refining Company
**U.S. National Park Service (NPS)
**Allsup's Convenience Stores
*Southwestern
**Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
**Lockheed Engineering and Sciences
**New Mexico State University
**Lovelace Healthcare
**Pepsi Cola Bottling
**NM Institute of Mining and Technology
**U.S. Army (Fort Bliss)
::
'''Source:''' Economic Research & Analysis Bureau New Mexico Department of Labor [http://laser.state.nm.us/analyzer/]
Demographics
{| class="toccolours" align="right" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin:0 0 1em 1em; font-size: 95%;"
|-
! colspan=2 bgcolor="#ccccff" align="center"| Historical populations
|-
! align="center"| Census
year !! align="right"| Population
|-
| colspan=2|
|-
| align="center"| 1850 || align="right"| 61,547
|-
| align="center"| 1860 || align="right"| 87,034
|-
| align="center"| 1870 || align="right"| 91,874
|-
| align="center"| 1880 || align="right"| 119,565
|-
| align="center"| 1890 || align="right"| 160,282
|-
| align="center"| 1900 || align="right"| 195,310
|-
| align="center"| 1910 || align="right"| 327,301
|-
| align="center"| 1920 || align="right"| 360,350
|-
| align="center"| 1930 || align="right"| 423,317
|-
| align="center"| 1940 || align="right"| 531,818
|-
| align="center"| 1950 || align="right"| 681,187
|-
| align="center"| 1960 || align="right"| 951,023
|-
| align="center"| 1970 || align="right"| 1,016,000
|-
| align="center"| 1980 || align="right"| 1,302,894
|-
| align="center"| 1990 || align="right"| 1,515,069
|-
| align="center"|
United States 2000 Census 2000 || align="right"| 1,819,046
|}
As of 2005, New Mexico has an estimated population of 1,928,384, which is an increase of 25,378, or 1.3%, from the prior year and an increase of 109,338, or 6.0%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 74,397 people (that is 143,617 births minus 69,220 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 37,501 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 27,974 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 9,527 people.
As of 2004, 10% of the residents of the state were foreign-born, and more than 2% of state residents were illegal aliens.
Race and ancestry
The racial makeup of New Mexico:
*44.7%
Whites White non-Hispanic
*42.1%
Hispanics Hispanic
*9.5%
Native American (U.S. Census) Native American
*1.9%
Blacks Black
*1.1%
Asian American Asian
*3.6%
Mixed race
The five largest ancestry groups in New Mexico are:
Spain Spanish/Hispano (24%),
Mexico Mexican (18.1%),
German-American German (9.9%),
Native Americans in the United States Native American (9.5%), and
British American English (7.6%).
The Hispanos of colonial Spanish ancestry are present in most of the state, especially northern, central, and northeastern New Mexico. Mexicans are prominent in southern part of the state. The northwestern corner of the state is primarily American Indian, of which Navajos and Pueblos are the largest tribes. New Mexico has the largest Hispanic population of any state, the second largest proportion of American Indians, and the largest percentage of residents of Spanish origin (24%).
7.2% of New Mexico's population were reported as under 5, 28% under 18, and 11.7% were 65 or older. Females make up approximately 50.8% of the population.
Lists
{{see|List of people from New Mexico|List of cities in New Mexico|New Mexico locations by per capita income}}
Religion
New Mexico has the highest percentage of Catholics of any Western state. And like many other
American West Western states, New Mexico has a higher-than-average percentage of people who claim no religion in comparison to other
U.S. states.
*
Christianity Christian – 77%
**
Roman Catholicism in the United States Roman Catholic – 41%
**
Protestantism Protestant – 35%
***
Baptist – 10%
***
Presbyterianism Presbyterian – 4%
***
Pentecostalism Pentecostal – 3%
***Other Protestant or general Protestant – 18%
**
Latter Day Saints – 3%
**Other Christian – 1%
*Other Religions – 1%
*Non-Religious – 19%
= Roman Catholicism
=
New Mexico belongs to the '''
ecclesiastical province Ecclesiastical Province of
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe'''. New Mexico has three
dioceses, one of which is an
archdiocese:
* '''
Archdiocese of Santa Fe'''
* '''
Diocese of Gallup'''
* '''
Diocese of Las Cruces'''
Culture
Image:Southwestern Chillis and Skull.jpg chile pepper.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|200px|Symbols of the Southwest — a string of [[chile peppers and a blanched white
Cattle cow's
skull hang in a market near
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe..html" title="Meaning of right|200px|Symbols of the Southwest — a string of [[chile pepper">thumb|right|200px|Symbols of the Southwest — a string of [[chile peppers and a blanched white
Cattle cow's
skull hang in a market near
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe.">right|200px|Symbols of the Southwest — a string of [[chile pepper">thumb|right|200px|Symbols of the Southwest — a string of [[chile peppers and a blanched white
Cattle cow's
skull hang in a market near
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe.
With a
Native Americans in the United States Native American population of 134,000 in 1990, New Mexico still ranks as an important center of
Native Americans in the United States American Indian culture. Both the
Navajo Nation Navajo and
Apache Tribe Apache share
Athabaskan origin. The Apache and some
Ute (tribe) Ute live on federal reservations within the state. With 16 million acres (65,000 km²), mostly in neighboring
Arizona, the reservation of the
Navajo Nation ranks as the largest in the United States. The prehistorically agricultural
Pueblo Indians live in pueblos scattered throughout the state, many older than any European settlement.
More than one-third of New Mexicans claim Hispanic origin, the vast majority of whom descend from the original Spanish colonists in the northern portion of the state. Most of the considerably fewer recent Mexican immigrants reside in the southern part of the state.
At least one-third of New Mexicans are also fluent in a unique dialect of Spanish.
New Mexican Spanish is rife with vocabulary often unknown to other Spanish speakers. Because of the historical isolation of New Mexico from other speakers of the Spanish language, the local dialect preserves some late medieval
Spanish language Castillian vocabulary considered archaic elsewhere, adopts numerous Native American words for local features, and contains much Anglicized vocabulary for American concepts and modern inventions.
The tranquil climate and startling panoramas have attracted Americans seeking health and retirement.
The presence of various indigenous 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.
There are natural history and atomic museums in Albuquerque, which also hosts the famed
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
A large artistic community thrives in
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe. The capital city has museums of Spanish colonial, international folk, Navajo ceremonial, modern Native American, and other modern art. Another museum honors resident
Georgia O'Keeffe. Colonies for artists and writers thrive, and the small city teems with art galleries. Performing arts include the renowned Santa Fe summer opera, and the restored
Lensic Theater. Writer
D.H. Lawrence resided in
Taos, New Mexico Taos. The weekend after Labor Day boasts the burning of Zozobra, a sixty-foot marionette, and Fiesta de Santa Fe.
Tourism
New Mexico's top tourist attractions:
* Santa Fe
**
Plaza of Santa Fe
**
Loretto Chapel
**
San Miguel Mission
**
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
** Georgia O'Keeffe Museum/Gallery
** El Rancho de las Golondrinas (Spanish Colonial living history museum)
* Taos Pueblo, Taos art colony, and Ski Valley
* Carlsbad Caverns National Park
* White Sands National Monument, the Trinity Site, and Missile Range, Alamogordo
* Albuquerque:
**
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
** Old Town Albuquerque
** Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque
** New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
** Rio Grande Zoological Park
**
Sandia Peak Tramway
** National Atomic Museum
** Indian Pueblo Culture Center
* Chaco Culture National Historical Park, San Juan Basin
-
The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, Chama
* Gila Cliff Dwellings, Silver City
* Roswell (UFO Landing Site) and the International UFO Museum, Roswell
* Billy the Kid Museum, Fort Sumner
* El Malpais National Monument, Acoma Pueblo & Misson, and Laguna Pueblo & Mission
* Historic Lincoln, Ruidoso, and Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation
* Very Large Array (VLA), Datil
* Black Jack Ketchum in [http://www.claytonnewmexico.net Clayton]
The state also has a number of casinos located on Native American Indian Reservations that attract thousands of visitors each year.
Major cities and towns
Image:National-atlas-new-mexico.png thumb|right|350px|New Mexico
New Mexico's largest cities are
Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, and Roswell. {{see|List of cities in New Mexico}}
Education
Colleges and universities
{|
| valign=top |
*
College of Santa Fe
*
College of the Southwest
*
Dine' College
*
Eastern New Mexico University
*
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
*
New Mexico Highlands University
| valign=top |
*
New Mexico Military Institute
*
New Mexico State University
*
San Juan College
*
St. John's College, Santa Fe
*
University of New Mexico
*
Western New Mexico University
|}
Miscellaneous information
Image:NewMexico2.jpg thumb|200px|Welcome to New Mexico
Image:NewMexico1.jpg thumb|200px|Hasta la Vista
Official state symbols
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 0.5em 1em 0.5em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
|
List of U.S. state mottos State motto
| ''"
Crescit eundo"''
(''"It Grows as It Goes"'')
| 1912
|-
| rowspan=2 |
List of U.S. state nicknames State nicknames
| ''"Land of Enchantment"''
(
Spanish language Spanish: ''"Tierra de Encanto"'' or ''"Tierra Encantada"'')
| 19_?
|-
| ''"The Colorful State"''
| 19_?
|-
| rowspan=3 |
State songs
| ''"
O Fair New Mexico"''
| 1917
|-
| ''"
Asi Es Nuevo México"''
| 1971
|-
| ''"
New Mexico-Mi Lindo Nuevo México"''
| 1995
|-
|
State flower
|
Yucca Yucca flower
| 1927
|-
|
State tree
|
Piñon pine Two-Needle Piñon pine
| 1949
|-
|
List of U.S. state birds State bird
|
Greater roadrunner
| 1949
|-
|
State fish
|
Cutthroat trout
| 1955
|-
|
State animal
|
american Black Bear black bear
| 1963
|-
|
State vegetables
|
chile pepper chile and
frijol
| 1965
|-
|
State gem
|
turquoise
| 1967
|-
|
State grass
|
blue grama
| 1973
|-
|
State fossil
|
coelophysis
| 1981
|-
|
State cookie
|
bizcochito
| 1989
|-
|
State insect
|
tarantula hawk
| 1989
|-
|
State ballad
| ''
Land of Enchantment "Land of Enchantment"''
| 1989
|-
|
State poem
|
A Nuevo México
| 1991
|-
|
State question '''*'''
| ''"Red or Green?"''
| 1999
|-
| rowspan=3 | State ship
| '''''"
USS New Mexico (BB-40)"'''''
| 1918–1946
|-
| '''''"
USS New Mexico (SSN-779)"'''''
| '''**'''2006
|}
('''*''')The official State Question refers to a question commonly heard at restaurants, where waiters will ask customers ''"red or green?"'' in reference to which kind of
chile pepper or ''"Chile sauce"'' the customers want served with their meal. This type of "chile" is usually distinct from
Salsa (sauce) Salsa, as the Chile sauce is much finer and thicker and more commonly served with meals. Natives are more likely to refer to the Chile sauce put on their meal as just plain "Chile", and not as any form of "salsa" (which is usually reserved by natives in English for the salsa served with chips; everything else is just "Chile"). If the diner wants both they can answer with, ''"Christmas"'' (or ''"Navidad"'' in
Spanish language Spanish), in reference to the two traditional colors of
Christmas—Red and Green. However, most natives simply say, ''"both"''.
('''**''')The second
USS New Mexico (SSN-779) ''USS New Mexico'', SSN-779, is scheduled to be constructed.
Further reading
* Hubert Howe Bancroft. ''The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Vol. XVII. (History of Arizona and New Mexico 1530-1888)'' (1889); reprint 1962. [http://www.1st-hand-history.org/Hhb/17/album1.html online edition]
* Warren Beck. ''Historical Atlas of New Mexico'' 1969.
*Thomas E. Chavez, ''An Illustrated History of New Mexico'', 267 pages, University of New Mexico Press 2002, ISBN 0826330517
* Lynne Marie Getz; ''Schools of Their Own: The Education of Hispanos in New Mexico, 1850-1940'' (1997)
*Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, David R. Maciel, editors, ''The Contested Homeland: A Chicano History of New Mexico'', 314 pages - University of New Mexico Press 2000, ISBN 0826321992
* Nancie L. González; ''The Spanish-Americans of New Mexico: A Heritage of Pride'' (1969)
* Ramón A. Gutiérrez; ''When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away: Marriage, Sexuality, and Power in New Mexico, 1500-1846'' (1991)
* Paul L. Hain; F. Chris Garcia, Gilbert K. St. Clair; ''New Mexico Government'' 3rd ed. (1994)
* Jack E. Holmes, ''Politics in New Mexico'' (1967),
*
Paul Horgan, ''Great River, The Rio Grande in North American History'', 1038 pages, Wesleyan University Press 1991, 4th Reprint, ISBN 819562513 - Pulitzer Prize 1955
*Robert W. Kern, ''Labor in New Mexico: Strikes, Unions, and Social History, 1881-1981'', University of New Mexico Press 1983, ISBN 0826306756
* Howard R. Lamar; ''The Far Southwest, 1846-1912: A Territorial History'' (1966, repr 2000)
* Robert W. Larson, ''New Mexico's Quest for Statehood, 1846-1912'' (1968)
* George I. Sánchez; ''Forgotten People: A Study of New Mexicans'' (1940; reprint 1996)
*Marc Simmons, ''New Mexico: An Interpretive History'', 221 pages, University of New Mexico Press 1988, ISBN 0826311105 - good introduction
* Ferenc M. Szasz; and Richard W. Etulain; ''Religion in Modern New Mexico'' (1997)
* David J. Weber, ''The Mexican Frontier, 1821-1846: The American Southwest under Mexico'' (1982)
Primary sources
* Richard Ellis, ed. ''New Mexico Past and Present: A Historical Reader.'' 1971. primary sources
*
Tony Hillerman, ''The Great Taos Bank Robbery and other Indian Country Affairs'', University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1973, trade paperback, 147 pages, (ISBN 082630530X), stories
* David J. Weber; ''Foreigners in Their Native Land: Historical Roots of the Mexican Americans'' (1973), primary sources to 1912
For reference
*
List of ZIP Codes in New Mexico
External links
-
New Mexico Government
-
New Mexico Tourism Department
-
Museum of New Mexico website
-
US Census Bureau
-
County Maps New Mexico Full color maps. List of cities, towns and county seats
-
New Mexico Net - Largest Collection of New Mexico Sites
-
Clayton New Mexico
-
18 Unique Images of Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque
{{New_Mexico}}
{{United_States}}
Category:1912 establishments
Category:New Mexico *
Category:States of the American West
Category:States of the United States
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{| class="toccolours" align="center" width=94% style="margin:0.5em 1em; clear:both"
|-
!align=center|
U.S. state State of
New Mexico
|rowspan=2 align=right|
Image:Flag of New Mexico.svg 50px|Flag of New Mexico
|-
|align=center| '''Regions'''
|-
|align=center|
Central New Mexico .html">Eastern New Mexico Llano Estacado | Northern New Mexico .html">Sangre de Christo Mountains Southwestern New Mexico
|-
!align=center| List of cities in New Mexico Largest cities
|-
|align=center| Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque | Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces | Rio Rancho, New Mexico Rio Rancho | Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe
|-
|align=center| Farmington, New Mexico Farmington | Roswell, New Mexico Roswell | Clovis, New Mexico Clovis | Alamogordo, New Mexico Alamogordo | Los Lunas, New Mexico Los Lunas | Hobbs, New Mexico Hobbs | Carlsbad, New Mexico Carlsbad | Española, New Mexico Española | Gallup, New Mexico Gallup | Las Vegas, New Mexico Las Vegas | Deming, New Mexico Deming | Belen, New Mexico Belen | Taos, New Mexico Taos | Silver City, New Mexico Silver City | Portales, New Mexico Portales | Artesia, New Mexico Artesia | Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos | Grants, New Mexico Grants
|-
!align=center| List of New Mexico counties Counties
|-
|align=center| Bernalillo County, New Mexico Bernalillo | Catron County, New Mexico Catron | Chaves County, New Mexico Chaves | Cibola County, New Mexico Cibola | Colfax County, New Mexico Colfax | Curry County, New Mexico Curry | De Baca County, New Mexico De Baca | Doña Ana County, New Mexico Doña Ana | Eddy County, New Mexico Eddy | Grant County, New Mexico Grant | Guadalupe County, New Mexico Guadalupe | Harding County, New Mexico Harding | Hidalgo County, New Mexico Hidalgo | Lea County, New Mexico Lea | Lincoln County, New Mexico Lincoln | Los Alamos County, New Mexico Los Alamos | Luna County, New Mexico Luna | McKinley County, New Mexico McKinley | Mora County, New Mexico Mora | Otero County, New Mexico Otero | Quay County, New Mexico Quay | Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Rio Arriba | Roosevelt County, New Mexico Roosevelt | San Juan County, New Mexico San Juan | San Miguel County, New Mexico San Miguel | Sandoval County, New Mexico Sandoval | Santa Fe County, New Mexico Santa Fe | Sierra County, New Mexico Sierra | Socorro County, New Mexico Socorro | Taos County, New Mexico Taos | Torrance County, New Mexico Torrance | Union County, New Mexico Union | Valencia County, New Mexico Valencia
|-
!align=center| Colleges and universities
|-
|align=center| College of Santa Fe .html">College of the Southwest Eastern New Mexico University | New Mexico Highlands University .html">New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology New Mexico Military Institute | New Mexico State University .html">St. John's College, U. S. St. John's College, Santa Fe | University of New Mexico | Western New Mexico University
|-
|}sv:Mall:New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the United States.
Category:States of the United States
de:Kategorie:New Mexico
fr:Catégorie:Nouveau-Mexique
ko:분류:뉴멕시코 주
ja:Category:ニューメã‚シコ州
pt:Categoria:Novo México
fi:Luokka:New Mexico
sv:Kategori:New Mexico
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*** Shopping-Tip: New Mexico