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| State nickname: Land of Enchantment | |||||
| Other U.S. States | |||||
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| Area - Total | Ranked 5th | ||||
| Population - 2000 Census | Ranked 36th 1,819,046 | ||||
| Population density - 2000 Census | Ranked 45th 5.79 /km² | ||||
| Admittance into Union - Order | | ||||
| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7/ -6 | ||||
| Latitude | 31°20'N to 37°N | ||||
| Longitude | 103°W to 109°W | ||||
| Width Length | 550 km 595 km | ||||
| ISO 3166-2 | US-NM
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New Mexico is centered on the Rio Grande valley, the historical center of Spanish settlement and conquest of the Pueblo peopleThe Pueblo People are a group of Native Americans who live in New Mexico and in Arizona. When first encountered by the Spanish in the 1500s they were living in adobe and stonework towns, mainly in the Rio Grande valley and thus were called "Pueblos," pueb, Native AmericanNative Americans (also Indians Aboriginal Peoples American Indians First Nations Alaskan Natives or Indigenous Peoples of America are the indigenous inhabitants of Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. This term compri 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 FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. in 1803Events January 30 Monroe and Livingston sail for Paris to discuss, and possibly buy, New Orleans. They end completing the Louisiana Purchase. February 24 The Supreme Court of the United States, in Marbury v. Madison establishes the principle of judicial r as part of the Louisiana PurchaseVia the Louisiana Purchase the United States acquired more than 529,911,680 acres (2,144,476 km2) of territory from France in 1803 for $15 million (which, if adjusted for inflation, would equal approximately $184 million in 2003). The French territory of. The remainder of what is now New Mexico was then wholly claimed by the Spanish colony of New SpainFlag of New Spain New Spain (in the Spanish language Nueva Espana was the name given to the Spanish colonial territory in North America from c. 1525 to 1821. The Capital of New Spain was Mexico City. New Spain was ruled by a Viceroy appointed by the King 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.
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.
See: List of New Mexico counties
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, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, the Valles Caldera National Preserve, the Gila wilderness , and Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
| North-south routes | East-west routes |
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 national laboratories at Los Alamos and Sandia 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.
According to the Census Bureau, as of the 2003, the population of New Mexico was 1,874,614. The population of New Mexico has grown 23.7% from its 1990 levels.
The racial makeup of the state is:
The 5 largest ancestry groups in New Mexico are Mexican (18.1%), German (9.9%), American Indian (9.5%), Spanish (9.3%), English (7.6%).
The 5 largest religious denominations in New Mexico are Roman Catholic (42%), Baptist (10%), " Christian" (5%), Presbyterian (4%), Pentecostal (3%). 19% of the population is nonreligious.
7.2% of New Mexico's population were reported as under 5, 28% under 18, and 11.7% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.8% of the population.
In many communities of Northern New Mexico, the Hispanic population consists of the descendants of Spanish colonizers who settled the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the southern part of the state, the Hispanic population is mostly derived from Mexican immigration during the 20th century. The Native American population consists of Pueblo Indians (some living in communities dating from before European settlement), and the Navajo and Apache, both of 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.
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.
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