The State of New Mexico ([nju?'m?ks?ko?];
is a state in the southwestern region of the United States of America.
Over its relatively long history it has been inhabited by Native
American populations and has been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty
of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S. states,
New Mexico has simultaneously the highest percentage of Hispanic
Americans (comprising both recent immigrants and descendants of
Spanish colonists) and the second-highest percentage of Native Americans
after Alaska (mostly Navajo and Pueblo peoples). As a result, the
demographics and culture of the state are unique for their strong
Spanish, Mexican, and American Indian cultural influences. The climate
of the state is highly arid and its territory is mostly covered
by mountains and desert. At a population density of 15 per square
mile, New Mexico is the sixth most sparsely inhabited U.S. State.
Contents [hide]
1 Geography
2 History
2.1 Mexican province
2.2 American territory
2.3 Statehood
3 Demographics
3.1 Ancestry groups
3.2 Languages
3.3 Religion
4 Economy
4.1 Taxes
4.2 Largest employers
5 Transportation
5.1 Passenger trains
5.2 Roadways
5.2.1 Interstate Freeways
5.2.2 U.S. Routes: East–West Routes
5.2.3 U.S. Routes: North–South Routes
6 Law and government
6.1 Politics
7 Important cities and towns
8 Military
9 Education
9.1 Secondary education
9.2 Colleges and universities
10 Miscellaneous topics
10.1 State symbols
11 Culture
11.1 Tourism
12 Notable New Mexicans
13 See also
14 References
15 Further reading
16 External links
[edit] Geography
Desert scene approx. 20 miles (32 km) South of Santa FeFurther information:
List of New Mexico counties
Digitally colored elevation map of NMThe state's total area is 121,665
square miles (315,110 km²). The eastern border of New Mexico
lies along 103° W longitude with the state of Oklahoma, and
three miles (5 km) west of 103° W longitude with Texas. On the
southern border, Texas makes up the eastern two-thirds, while the
Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora make up the western third,
with Chihuahua making up about 90% of that. The western border with
Arizona runs along the 109° 03' W longitude. The 37° N latitude
parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The states New
Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners
in the northwestern corner of New Mexico. New Mexico, although a
large state, has little water. Its surface water area is only about
250 square miles (650 km²). New Mexico's average precipitation
rate is only 15 inches (380 mm) a year.
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, especially towards the north. The Sangre de Cristo
(Blood of Christ) Mountains, the southernmost part of the Rocky
Mountains, run roughly north-south along the east side of the Rio
Grande in the rugged, pastoral north. The most important of New
Mexico's rivers are the Rio Grande, Pecos, Canadian, San Juan, and
Gila. The Rio Grande is the third longest river in the U.S.
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 New Mexico
as national forests including:
Carson National Forest
Cibola National Forest (headquartered in Albuquerque)
Lincoln National Forest
Santa Fe National Forest (headquartered in Santa Fe)
Gila National Forest
Gila Wilderness
Other protected lands include the following national monuments and
parks:
Aztec Ruins National Monument at Aztec
Bandelier National Monument in Los Alamos
Capulin Volcano National Monument near Capulin
Carlsbad Caverns National Park near Carlsbad
Chaco Culture National Historical Park at Nageezi
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail
El Malpais National Monument in Grants
El Morro National Monument in Ramah
Fort Union National Monument at Watrous
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument near Silver City
Old Spanish National Historic Trail
Pecos National Historical Park in Pecos
Petroglyph National Monument near Albuquerque
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument at Mountainair
Santa Fe National Historic Trail
White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo
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.
See also: Delaware Basin
[edit] History
Main article: History of New Mexico
Wagon in the mechanics corral of Fort Union National Monument, New
MexicoThe first known inhabitants of New Mexico were members of
the Clovis culture of Paleo-Indians. Indeed the culture is named
for the New Mexico city where the first artifacts of this culture
were discovered. Later inhabitants include Native Americans of the
Anasazi and the Mogollon cultures. By the time of European contact
in the 1500s, the region was settled by the villages of the Pueblo
peoples and groups of Navajo, Apache and Ute.
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado assembled an enormous expedition
at Compostela in 1540–1542 to explore and find the mystical
Seven Golden Cities of Cibola as described by Cabeza de Vaca who
had just arrived from his eight-year ordeal traveling from Florida
to Mexico. Coronado's men found several mud baked pueblos in 1541,
but found no rich cities of gold. Further widespread expeditions
found no fabulous cities anywhere in the Southwest or Great Plains.
A dispirited and now poor Coronado and his men began their journey
back to Mexico leaving New Mexico behind.
Over 50 years after Coronado, Juan de Oñate founded the
San Juan colony on the Rio Grande in 1598, the first permanent European
settlement in the future state of New Mexico. Oñate pioneered
the grandly named El Camino Real, Royal Road", as a 700 mile
(1,100 km) trail 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 revolted against this
Spanish encroachment but faced severe suppression.
Pueblo Ruins at Aztec Ruins National Monument.In 1609, Pedro de
Peralta, a later governor of the Province of New Mexico, established
the settlement of Santa Fe at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The city, along with most of the settled areas of the state, was
abandoned by the Spanish for 12 years (1680-1692) as a result of
the successful Pueblo Revolt. After the death of the Pueblo leader
Popé, Diego de Vargas restored the area to Spanish rule.
While developing Santa Fe as a trade center, the returning settlers
founded the old town of Albuquerque in 1706, naming it for the viceroy
of New Spain, the Duke of Alburquerque.
[edit] Mexican province
As a part of New Spain, the claims for the province of New Mexico
passed to independent Mexico following the 1810-1821 Mexican War
of Independence. During the brief 26 year period of nominal Mexican
control, Mexican authority and investment in New Mexico were weak,
as their often conflicted government had little time or interest
in a New Mexico that had been poor since the Spanish settlements
started. Some Mexican officials, saying they were wary of encroachments
by the growing United States, and wanting to reward themselves and
their friends, began issuing enormous land grants (usually free)
to groups of Mexican families as an incentive to populate the province.
Small trapping parties from the United States had previously reached
and stayed in Santa Fe, but the Spanish authorities officially forbade
them to trade. Trader William Becknell returned to the United States
in November 1821 with news that independent Mexico now welcomed
trade through Santa Fe.
William Becknell left Independence, Missouri, for Santa Fe early
in 1822 with the first party of traders. The Santa Fe Trail trading
company, headed by the brothers Charles Bent and William Bent and
Ceran St. Vrain, was one of the most successful in the West. They
had their first trading post in the area in 1826, and, by 1833,
they had built their adobe fort and trading post called Bent's Fort
on the Arkansas River. This fort and trading post, located about
200 miles (322 km) east of Taos, New Mexico, was the only place
settled by whites along the Santa Fe trail before it hit Taos. The
Santa Fe National Historic Trail follows the route of the old trail,
with many sites marked or restored.
Route of the Old Spanish TrailThe Spanish Trail from Los Angeles,
California to Santa Fe, New Mexico was primarily used by Hispanics,
white traders and ex-trappers living part of the year in or near
Santa Fe. Started in about 1829, the trail was an arduous 2,400
(3862 km) mile round trip pack train sojourn that extended into
Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California and back, allowing only one
hard round trip per year. The trade consisted primarily of blankets
and some trade goods from Santa Fe being traded for horses in California.
The Republic of Texas claimed the mostly vacant territory north
and east of the Rio Grande when it successfully 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.
[edit] American territory
Following the Mexican-American War, from 1846-1848 and the Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico forcibly ceded its mostly unsettled
northern holdings, today known as the American Southwest and California
to the United States of America in exchange for an end to hostilities,
the evacuation of Mexico City and many other areas under American
control. Mexico also received $15 million cash, plus the assumption
of slightly more than $3 million in outstanding Mexican debts.
The Congressional Compromise of 1850 halted a bid for statehood
under a proposed antislavery constitution. Texas transferred eastern
New Mexico to the federal government, settling a lengthy boundary
dispute. Under the compromise, the American government established
the Territory of New Mexico on September 9, 1850. The territory,
which included most of the future states of Arizona, New Mexico,
and parts of Colorado, officially established its capital at Santa
Fe in 1851.
The United States acquired the southwestern boot heel of the state
and southern Arizona below the Gila river in the mostly desert Gadsden
Purchase of 1853. This purchase was desired when it was found that
a much easier route for a proposed transcontinental railroad was
located slightly south of the Gila river. The Southern Pacific built
the second transcontinental railroad though this purchased land
in 1881.
During the American Civil War, Confederate troops from Texas briefly
occupied the Rio Grande valley as far north as Santa Fe. Union troops
from the Territory of Colorado re-captured the territory in March
1862 at the Battle of Glorieta Pass. The Territory of Arizona was
split off as a separate territory on February 24, 1863.
1867 mapThere were centuries of conflict between the Apache, the
Navajo and Spanish-Mexican settlements in the territory. It took
the federal government another 25 years after the Civil War to exert
control over both the civilian and Native American populations of
the territory. This started in 1864 when the Navajo were sent on
"The Long Walk" to Bosque Redondo Reservation and then
returned to most of their lands in 1868. The Apache were moved to
various reservations and Apache wars continued until Geronimo finally
surrendered in 1886.
The railway encouraged the great cattle boom of the 1880s and the
development of accompanying cow towns. The cattle barons 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 and remains a mainstay of the New Mexican economy.
Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, on the middle Rio
Grande, was incorporated in 1889.
[edit] Statehood
New Mexico state welcome signCongress 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 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 Proving Grounds between Socorro and Alamogordo on
July 16, 1945.
Albuquerque expanded rapidly after the war. High-altitude experiments
near Roswell in 1947 reputedly led to persistent but unproven suspicions
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. Sandia National
Laboratories, founded in 1949, carried out nuclear research and
special weapons development at Kirtland Air Force Base south of
Albuquerque and at Livermore, California.
Located in the remote Chihuahuan Desert the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant (WIPP) is located 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Carlsbad.
Here nuclear wastes are buried deep in carved out salt formation
disposal rooms mined 2,150 feet (655 m) underground in a 2,000-foot
(610 m) thick salt formation that has been stable for more than
200 million years. WIPP began operations on March 26, 1999.
[edit] Demographics
New Mexico Population Density Map(See also List of cities in New
Mexico and New Mexico locations by per capita income) 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.
The center of population of New Mexico is located in Torrance County,
in the town of Manzano.[2]
As of 2006, 8.2% of the residents of the state were foreign-born.
According to the Census Bureau, 1.5% of the population is Multiracial/Mixed-Race,
a population larger than both the Asian and NHPI population groups.
New Mexico has the highest percentage of people of Hispanic ancestry
of any state, some recent immigrants and others descendants of Spanish
colonists. The state also has a large Native American population,
third behind Alaska and Oklahoma. Hispanics of colonial ancestry,
along with recent Mexican immigrants, are present in most of the
state, especially northern, central, and northeastern New Mexico.
Mexican immigrants, legal or illegal, are prominent in southern
parts of the state. Descendants of white American settlers, mostly
of Irish and English descent, from other parts of United States
live in west, southwest, and southeast areas and main cities of
the state. The northwestern corner of the state is primarily occupied
by Native Americans, of which Navajos and Pueblos are the largest
tribes. As a result, the demographics and culture of the state are
unique for their strong American, Colonial Spanish, Mexican, and
Native American cultural influences.
[edit] Ancestry groups
According to the U.S. Census, the largest ancestry groups in New
Mexico are:
Ancestry Percentage Main article:
Mexican (18.1%) of Total See Mexican American
Native American (10.3%) See Native American
German (9.8%) See German American
Hispanic (9.4%) See Hispanic American
Spanish (9.3%) See Spanish American
English (7.6%) See English American
Irish (7.3%) See Irish American
Many are mixtures of all of these groups and others.
7.2% of New Mexico's population was reported as under 5 years of
age, 28% under 18, and 11.7% were 65 or older. Females make up approximately
50.8% of the population.
[edit] Languages
According the 2000 U.S. Census, 28.76% of the population aged 5
and over speak Spanish at home, while 4.07% speak Navajo.[3]
New Mexico is commonly thought to have Spanish as an official language
alongside English, due to the widespread usage of Spanish in the
state. Although the original state constitution of 1912 provided
for a temporarily bilingual government, New Mexico has no official
language. Nevertheless, the state government publishes election
ballots and a driver's manual in both languages.
The constitution provided that, for the following twenty years,
all laws passed by the legislature be published in both Spanish
and English, and thereafter as the legislature should provide.
Prior to 1967, notices of statewide and county elections were required
to be printed in English and "may be printed in Spanish."
Additionally, many legal notices today are required to be published
in both English and Spanish.[4]
In 1995, New Mexico adopted a "State Bilingual Song,"
titled "New Mexico - Mi Lindo Nuevo México."
[edit] Religion
New Mexico has the highest percentage of Catholics of any Western
U.S state. In comparison to other U.S. states, and like many other
states in the region, New Mexico has a higher-than-average percentage
of people who claim no religion.[citation needed]
Christian – 81%
Catholic – 41%
Protestant – 35%
Baptist – 10%
Presbyterian – 4%
Pentecostal – 3%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 18%
LDS (Mormon) – 4%
Other Christian – 1%
Other Religions – 1%
Non-Religious – 19%
Within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, New Mexico belongs
to the Ecclesiastical Province of Santa Fe. New Mexico has three
dioceses, one of which is an archdiocese:
Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Diocese of Gallup
Diocese of Las Cruces
[edit] Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Mexico's total
state product in 2003 was $57 billion. Per capita personal income
in 2003 was $24,995, 48th in the nation.[5]
New Mexico Industries by 2004 Taxable Gross Receipts (000s)
Retail Trade 12,287,061
Construction 5,039,555
Other Services (excluding Public Administration) 4,939,187
Professional, Scientific and Technology Services 3,708,527
Accommodation and Food Services 2,438,460
Wholesale Trade 2,146,066
Health Care and Social Assistance 1,897,471
Utilities 1,654,483
Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction 1,238,211
Manufacturing 926,372
Information and Cultural Industries 849,902
Unclassified Establishments 725,405
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 544,739
Finance and Insurance 254,223
Transportation and Warehousing 221,457
Public Administration 159,013
Educational Services 125,649
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 124,017
Admin & Support, Waste Management & Remediation 73,062
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 71,853
Management of Companies and Enterprises 48,714
Totals 39,473,429
Source: State of New Mexico Department of Labor
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, 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 piñon nuts, pinto beans,
and chiles.
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 of the desert and semiarid portions of
the state where scant rainfall evaporates rapidly, generally leaving
insufficient water supplies for large-scale irrigation.. Located
upstream of Las Cruces, the Elephant Butte 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 process pinewood, the chief commercial
wood of the rich timber economy of northern New Mexico.
Mineral extraction: New Mexicans derive much of their income from
mineral extraction. Even before European exploration, Native Americans
mined turquoise for making jewelry.[6] After the Spanish introduced
refined silver alloys they were incorporated into the Indian jewelry
designs. New Mexico produces uranium ore (see Uranium mining in
New Mexico), manganese ore, potash, salt, perlite, copper ore, beryllium,
and tin concentrates. Natural gas, petroleum, and coal are also
found in smaller quantities.
Industrial output, centered around Albuquerque, includes 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. The federal government spends $2 on New Mexico for every
dollar of tax revenue collected from the state. This rate of return
is higher than any other state in the Union. [1]. The federal government
also a major employer in New Mexico providing 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 on Kirtland AFB, on the southeast side of
Albuquerque. These installations also include the missile and spacecraft
proving grounds at 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 space tourism company to develop commercial
flights into space, has decided to put its world headquarters and
mission control in Upham, New Mexico (25 miles (40 km) south of
Truth or Consequences); Virgin Galactic will have its inaugural
launch of the VSS Enterprise spaceship in 2008, and will begin launching
ordinary citizens in early 2009.[7][8][9]
Tourism provides many service jobs. For top attractions see: Tourism.
Private service economy in urban New Mexico, especially in Albuquerque,
has boomed in recent decades. Since the end of World War II, the
city has gained an ever-growing number of retirees, especially among
armed forces veterans and government workers. It is also increasingly
gaining notice 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.
Feature films have used New Mexico as a location since The Indian
School in 1898. Financial incentives[10] and construction of facilities
(such as The Albuquerque Studios)[11] have created opportunities
for locally based crew members with production reaching an all time
high in 2007. As of the end of August 2007, 30 major projects have
been filmed in the state, more than in any other calendar year in
history.[12]
Film and television post-production is also growing with companies
such as Sony Imageworks establishing a permanent home in the state.[13]
[edit] Taxes
Personal income tax rates for New Mexico range from 1.7% to 5.3%,
within 4 income brackets.
New Mexico does not have a sales tax. Instead, it has a 5% gross
receipts tax. In almost every case, the business passes along the
tax to the consumer, so that the gross receipts tax resembles a
sales tax. The combined gross receipts tax rate varies throughout
the state from 5.125% to 7.8125%. The total rate is a combination
of all rates imposed by the state, counties and municipalities.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2005, New Mexicans no longer pay taxes on most
food purchases; however, there are exceptions to this program. Also
beginning Jan. 1, 2005, the state eliminated the tax on certain
medical services.
In general, taxes are not assessed on personal property. Personal
household effects, licensed vehicles, registered aircraft, certain
personal property warehoused in the state and business personal
property that is not depreciated for federal income tax purposes
are exempt from the property tax.
Property tax rates vary substantially and depend on the type of
property and its location. The state does not assess tax on intangible
personal property. There is no inheritance tax, but an inheritance
may be reflected in a taxpayer's modified gross income and taxed
that way.
[edit] 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
Kirtland Air Force Base
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 Bottling
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
U.S. Army (Fort Bliss)
Source: Economic Research & Analysis Bureau New Mexico Department
of Labor[14]
[edit] Transportation
[edit] Passenger trains
The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is a commuter rail system serving
the metropolitan area of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It began operation
on July 14, 2006. The system is in Phase I of planned development,
operating on an existing old ATSF, now BNSF right of way from Belen
to Bernalillo. However, the entire line from Belen to Raton was
recently sold to the state of New Mexico for the construction of
phase II, which is currently underway and scheduled to open by late
2008. It will extend the line northward to Santa Fe.
Amtrak's Southwest Chief passes through daily at stations in Gallup,
Albuquerque, Lamy, Las Vegas, and Raton, offering connections to
Los Angeles, Flagstaff, Kansas City, and Chicago. The only true
transcontinental train in the United States, The Sunset Limited
makes stops three times a week in Lordsburg, and Deming.
[edit] Roadways
Gallup, New Mexico along old Route 66.
[edit] Interstate Freeways
Interstate 10
Interstate 25
Interstate 40
[edit] 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 (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
[edit] U.S. Routes: North–South Routes
U.S. Route 285
U.S. Route 491
See also: List of New Mexico highways
[edit] Law and government
The Constitution of 1912, as amended, dictates the form of government
in the state.
Governor Bill Richardson and Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish,
both Democrats, won re-election in 2006. Their terms expire in January
2011. Governors serve a term of four years and may seek reelection.
For a list of past governors, see List of New Mexico Governors.
Other Constitutional officers, all of whose terms also expire in
January 2011, include Secretary of State Mary Herrera,[15] Attorney
General Gary King,[16] State Auditor Hector Balderos,[17] State
Land Commissioner Pat Lyons,[18] and State Treasurer James B. Lewis.[19]
Herrera, King, Balderos and Lewis are Democrats. Lyons is a Republican.
The New Mexico State Legislature is comprising a 70-seat House
of Representatives and a 42-seat Senate. The Democratic Party generally
dominates state politics, and as of 2008 50% of voters were registered
Democrats, 33% were registered Republicans, and 15% did not affiliate
with either of the two major parties.
New Mexico sent Democrat Jeff Bingaman to the United States Senate
until January 2013 and Republican Pete V. Domenici until January
2009. Republicans Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson and Democrat Tom
Udall represent the state in the United States House of Representatives.
See New Mexico congressional map.
[edit] Politics
In the past, New Mexico has given 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 in 2000.
Recently, New Mexico supported Democrats in 1992, 1996, and 2000.
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. Democrats
hold majorities in 21 of the 33 counties of New Mexico, including
Albuquerque, Las Cruces, two northwestern counties, and, by large
margins, in six counties of Northern New Mexico (Santa Fe, Rio Arriba,
Taos, Mora, San Miguel, and Guadalupe).
Overall, the trend is toward the Democratic Party and away from
the Republican Party. The registration numbers are: 50% Democrat,
33% Republican, and 15% other.
[edit] Important cities and towns
New MexicoNew Mexico's largest cities are Albuquerque, Las Cruces,
Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Roswell, and Farmington.
Further information: List of cities in New Mexico
[edit] Military
In addition to the National Guard,New Mexico has a State Defense
Force. It is also home to Cannon Air Force Base west of Clovis,
Holloman Air Force Base west of Alamogordo, Kirtland Air Force Base
in Albuquerque, and White Sands Missile Range in Doña Ana
and Otero counties.
[edit] Education
[edit] Secondary education
Main article: List of high schools in New Mexico
[edit] Colleges and universities
Sculpture at Mesalands Community College in TucumcariMain article:
List of colleges and universities in New Mexico
Central New Mexico Community College
College of Santa Fe
College of the Southwest
Diné College
Eastern New Mexico University
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
New Mexico Highlands University
New Mexico Military Institute
New Mexico State University
San Juan College
St. John's College, Santa Fe
The Art Center Design College, Albuquerque
University of New Mexico
Western New Mexico University
[edit] Miscellaneous topics
[edit] State symbols
State motto "Crescit eundo"
("It Grows as It Goes") 1912
State nicknames "Land of Enchantment"
(Spanish: "Tierra del Encanto" or "Tierra Encantada")
19_?
"The Colorful State" 19_?
"The Spanish State" 19_?
State songs "O Fair New Mexico" 1917
"Asi Es Nuevo México" 1971
"New Mexico-Mi Lindo Nuevo México" 1995
State flower Yucca flower 1927
State tree Two-Needle Piñon pine 1949
State bird Greater roadrunner 1949
State fish Cutthroat trout 1955
State animal black bear 1963
State vegetables frijoles con chile (fre·hol·?s con
chel?) beans and chile pepper 1965
State gem turquoise 1967
State grass blue grama 1973
State fossil coelophysis 1981
State cookie bizcochito 1989
State insect tarantula wasp 1989
State ballad "Land of Enchantment" 1989
State poem A Nuevo México 1991
State question * "Red or Green?" 1999
State Tie Bolo Tie 2007
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 chili pepper or "chile sauce"
the customers wants served with their meal. This type of "chile"
is usually distinct from salsa, as the chile sauce is much finer
and thicker and more commonly served with meals. Natives are more
likely to refer to the chili 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), in reference to the two traditional colors of Christmas—Red
and Green.
(**)The second USS New Mexico, SSN-779, is scheduled to be constructed.
In 1947, a craft of unknown origin crashed at or near Roswell,
New Mexico. Allegedly, in 1949, another craft of unknown origin
crashed near this city.
Taos, New Mexico is known for a humming noise. See Taos Hum.
[edit] Culture
Symbols of the Southwest — a string of chili peppers and a
blanched white cow's skull hang in a market near Santa FeWith a
Native American population of 134,000 in 1990, New Mexico still
ranks as an important center of American Indian culture. Both the
Navajo and Apache share Athabaskan origin. The Apache and some Ute
live on federal reservations within the state. With 16 million acres
(6,500,000 ha), 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.
There are many New Mexicans who also speak a unique dialect of
Spanish. New Mexican Spanish has 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 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 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. 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. In August, the city
hosts the annual Santa Fe Indian Market, which is the oldest and
largest juried Native American art showcase in the world.
Performing arts include the renowned Santa Fe Opera which presents
five operas in repertory each July to August, the Santa Fe Chamber
Music Festival held each summer, and the restored Lensic Theater
a principal venue for many kinds of performances. The weekend after
Labor Day boasts the burning of Zozobra, a 50 ft (15 m) marionette,
during Fiestas de Santa Fe.
Writer D. H. Lawrence lived near Taos in the 1920s at the D. H.
Lawrence Ranch where there is a shrine said to contain his ashes.
[edit] Tourism
New Mexico tourist attractions:
Santa Fe
Plaza of Santa Fe
Loretto Chapel
San Miguel Mission
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi
Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Museum of International Folk Art
El Rancho de las Golondrinas (Spanish Colonial living history museum)
Santa Fe Indian Market
Taos County
Taos Pueblo
Taos art colony
Taos Ski Valley
Acoma Sky Pueblo
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
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
Rio Grande Zoo
Albuquerque Biological Park
Sandia Peak Tramway
National Atomic Museum
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
Expo New Mexico, formerly the New Mexico State Fairgrounds
Chaco Culture National Historical Park, San Juan Basin
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, Chama
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Silver City
Roswell
Roswell UFO Landing Site
International UFO Museum
The Roswell UFO Festival, The First Weekend In July
Upham
Virgin Galactic
Spaceport America
Black Jack Ketchum in Clayton
Billy the Kid Museum, Fort Sumner
Historic Lincoln, Ruidoso, and Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation
Sierra County Recreation and Tourism website link
Silver City was a gold mining town in the Wild West.
The Piños Altos is a ghost town located near Silver City.
Acoma Pueblo & Mission
Laguna Pueblo & Mission
El Malpais National Monument
Zuni Salt Lake
Socorro
Very Large Array
Bosque del Apache
El Camino Real Heritage Center
Mineralogical Museum
Quebradas Region
Hasta la VistaCatron County
Site of the "Alma Massacre"
Catwalk National Recreation Trail
Mogollon Ghost Town
The Lightning Field
Whitewater Baldy
The state also has a number of casinos located on Native American
Indian Reservations that attract thousands of visitors each year.
Notable New Mexicans
Main article: List of people from New Mexico
Many New Mexicans-those who were born, raised, or lived a significant
period in New Mexico-have gained local, national, and international
prominence. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson was one of the candidates
for the 2008 United States presidential election. Notable businessmen
include Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, and Conrad Hilton, founder
of the Hilton Hotels Corporation. New Mexicans have also studied
outer space, notably NASA astronauts Sidney M. Gutierrez and Harrison
Schmitt. Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, a former New Mexico State University
professor, discovered Pluto. Several New Mexicans have served roles
in popular culture, including artist Georgia O'Keeffe, animator
William Hanna, actor Neil Patrick Harris and actress Demi Moore,
Pulitzer Prize winners Bill Mauldin and Ernie Pyle, and rapper Xzibit.
Notorious criminals include outlaws Billy the Kid and Clay Allison.
CONTACT
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