New Mexico
New Mexico State Information
www.state.nm.us
Area (sq mi):: 121589.48 (land 121355.53; water 233.96) Population per square mile: 15.90
Population 2005: 1,928,384 State rank: 0 Population change: 2000-20005 6.00%; 1990-2000 20.10% Population 2000: 1,819,046 (White 44.70%; Black or African American 1.90%; Hispanic or Latino 42.10%; Asian 1.10%; Other 30.20%). Foreign born: 8.20%. Median age: 34.60
Income 2000: per capita $17,261; median household $34,133; Population below poverty level: 18.40% Personal per capita income (2000-2003): $22,135-$24,995
Unemployment (2004): 5.70% Unemployment change (from 2000): 0.70% Median travel time to work: 21.90 minutes Working outside county of residence: 15.40%
List of New Mexico counties:
New Mexico Parks
- US National Parks
- Urban Parks
- State Parks
- Parks and Conservation-Related Organizations - US
- National Wildlife Refuges
- National Trails
- National Scenic Byways
- National Grasslands
- National Forests
New Mexico
Forty-seventh state; admitted on January 6, 1912
New Mexico does not regularly observe the anniversary of its statehood, but in 1972, the 60th anniversary of its admission to the U.S., a commemoration was held in Santa Fe. There was a reception at the Palace of Governors, where members of the Sociedad Folklórica dressed in costumes of the 1910s.
State capital: Santa Fe Nickname: Land of Enchantment State motto: Crescit Eundo (Latin “It Grows as It Goes”) State aircraft: Hot air balloon State amphibian: Mexico spadefoot (Spea multiplicata) State ballad: “Land of Enchantment—New Mexico” State balloon museum: Anderson-Abruzzo International
Balloon Museum State bilingual song: “New Mexico—Mi Lindo Nuevo Mexico” State bird: Chaparral bird or roadrunner (Geococcyx califor
nianus) State butterfly: Sandia hairstreak (Callophrys mcfarlandi) State cookie: Bizcochito State fish: Rio Grande cutthroat trout (Salmo clerki) State flower: Yucca flower (Yucca glauca) State fossil: Coelophysis dinosaur State gem: Turquoise State grass: Blue grama (Bouteloua gracillis) State insect: Tarantula hawk wasp (Pepsis formosa) State mammal: Black bear (Ursus americanus) State poem: “A Nuevo Mexico” (“To New Mexico”) State question: “Red or Green?” (refers to which chile one
prefers) State reptile: New Mexico whiptail (Cnemidophorus neomex
ianus) State slogan: “Everybody is somebody in New Mexico.” State songs: “O, Fair New Mexico” and “Asi es Nuevo
Mejico” State tie: Bolo tie State train: Cumbres & Toltec Railroad State tree: Piñon or nut pine (Pinus edulis) State vegetables: Chile (Capsicum annum) and frijol or pinto
bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
More about state symbols at:
www.sos.state.nm.us/KidsCorner/index.html
More about the state at:
www.newmexicohistory.org/ www.newmexico.gov/
SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 29 AnnivHol-2000, p. 5
STATE OFFICES:
State web site: www.state.nm.us
Office of the Governor State Capitol Bldg 490 Santa Fe Trail Rm 400 Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-827-3000 fax: 505-476-2226 www.governor.state.nm.us
Secretary of State 325 Don Gaspar Ave Suite 300 Santa Fe, NM 87503 505-827-3600 fax: 505-827-8081 www.sos.state.nm.us
New Mexico State Library 1209 Camino Carlos Rey Santa Fe, NM 87507 505-476-9700 www.nmstatelibrary.org
New Mexico
a state in the southwestern USA, in the Rio Grande basin and bordering on Mexico. Area, 315,000 sq km. In 1970 the state had a population of 1 million, 69.8 percent of which was concentrated in urban centers.
A considerable part of the population comprises Indians (73,000 in 1970) and Mexicans. The state capital is Santa Fe; the chief economic center is Albuquerque. Most of the state is occupied by the Rocky Mountains (with elevations of up to 4,000 m) and plateaus, including the Llano Estacado and the Colorado. The climate is subtropical and arid. The plateaus have savanna and steppe vegetation. The mountains are covered primarily with pine forests.
There are 17,000 employees in the mining industry. Approximately two-thirds of the known resources of uranium in the USA are located in New Mexico. Uranium ore is mined (5,000 tons of U3O8 in 1971, with the center at Ambrosia Lake), as well as potassium salts (2.2 million tons of K2O, more than 80 percent of that extracted in the USA, with the principal center at Carlsbad), petroleum (18 million tons), natural gas (34 billion cu m), copper (150,000 tons), zinc (16,000 tons), and complex metals. The processing industry employs some 21,000 persons. Its chief branches are nonferrous metallurgy and the food-processing and atomic industries (the principal centers of the last are located at Los Alamos and Sandia). The capacity of the state’s electric power plants amounts to 3.6 GW. In agriculture there is a predominance of pasture livestock raising (more than three-quarters of all commercial farm output). There are 1.3 million cattle (35,000 dairy cows) and 800,000 head of sheep. Irrigated lands are used for the cultivation of grasses, cotton, sorghum, wheat, and green vegetables. The state has a good deal of tourism. V. M. GOKHMAN
During the 16th century, the territory of New Mexico, which had been settled by Indian tribes, was conquered by the Spaniards. In 1771 it became part of the Spanish colony of New Spain. During the War of Independence of the Spanish-American Colonies of 1810–26, it became part of Mexico (in 1821). During the Mexican War (1846–48) it was seized by the USA. In 1850 the territory of New Mexico was formed from these seized lands (during that period it also included the present-day states of Utah and Arizona, as well as parts of Texas and Colorado). In 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state of the USA.