4 NEWMEXICO Southwestern cuisine reflects a blend of Native American and Hispanic American cultures Common ingredients include tortillas pinto beans and chili peppers New Mexico covers an area of 121,598 square miles It is the fifth largest state in the country Spanish explorers of the 1560s named the area Nuevo Mexico which is Spanish for New Mexico They hoped to discover riches similar to those found in Mexico The name was changed to New Mexico when the area became a territory of the United States in 1850 The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe The largest city in the state is Albuquerque INTRODUCTION Scenic beauty and a rich cultural mix are two of the primary reasons people visit New Mexico Nicknamed the Land of Enchantment New Mexico has a beautiful landscape that varies from snowcapped mountains to scorching deserts Its culture is a fascinating blend of Native American Hispanic and European influences with the ancient and the modern side by side The Pueblo Indians of northern New Mexico carry on traditions of their ancient ancestors who lived in the area some 2,000 years ago The state also is home to portions of the first road built by the Spanish in what is now the United States El Camino Real The King’s Highway It dates back to the late 1500s By contrast some of the most sophisticated research facilities in the world are found in New Mexico In 1945 the first atomic bomb was completed and tested in the state and scientists in New Mexico continue to conduct research in the fields of nuclear energy and space exploration in the 21st century Santa Fe is one of the oldest towns in the United States It was founded in 1610 a decade before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock Santa Fe means Holy Faith in Spanish
INTRODUCTION 5 New Mexico is located in the southwestern United States Almost square in shape it shares borders with Colorado to the north and Oklahoma and Texas to the east Texas also forms the state’s southeast border Arizona lies to the west and to the southwest New Mexico shares a border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora Along with Arizona Utah and Colorado New Mexico forms the Four Corners region Corners of all four states meet at this spot Traveling by automobile in New Mexico is made simple with about 60,000 miles of highways Drivers heading north or south often use Interstate 25 and those driving east or west can take Interstate 40 Some travelers along Interstate 40 take the old byways that were part of Route 66 This was a historic roadway that started in Illinois passed through New Mexico and ended in California The main airport in the state is Albuquerque International Sunport About 6 million people pass through this airport every year New Mexico Location Map R O C K Y M O U N T A I N S New Mexico’s state motto is the Latin phrase Crescit Eundo meaning It Grows as It Goes Although railroads are no longer a primary means of transportation in New Mexico the famous railway called the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe now called the Santa Fe Southern still provides rides from Santa Fe to Lamy N M N M In the 1870s a newspaper summed up the violence of the West It reported Everything is quiet in Cimarron Nobody has been killed in three days Capital Santa Fe Population 1,819,046 Interstate highways Size 121,598 square miles Scale 0 0 35 56 70 Mi 113 Km Highest peak Wheeler Peak 13,161 feet
In the 1870s New Mexico was as wild as any other region in the West The residents of the state’s towns included an unruly mixture of miners cowboys gamblers and cattle rustlers Most carried guns and were quick to use them Some towns did not even have sheriffs or deputies to keep the peace Out of this lawless frontier emerged one of the most famous outlaws in the history of the United States Billy the Kid Born William H Bonney Jr in New York City in about 1859 he moved to New Mexico with his mother while in his early teens He soon became a thief and gunfighter wandering throughout the Southwest and northern Mexico Billy the Kid was said to have killed at least 27 men including two deputies In 1881 Sheriff Pat Garrett shot and killed Billy the Kid at Fort Sumner N M At the time of his death Billy the Kid was about 21 years old 6 NEWMEXICO Some Native Americans in New Mexico enlarged holes in cliffs and linked them to form clusters of cave dwellings Billy the Kid’s real name may not have been William H Bonney Jr Some people think his name was either Henry McCarty or Ollie L Roberts New Mexico’s official state song is O Fair New Mexico It was written in 1917 by Elizabeth Garrett She was Sheriff Pat Garrett’s daughter Kit Carson and Buffalo Bill Cody are two famous frontiersmen from New Mexico Tourists can visit Billy the Kid’s gravesite in Fort Sumner near Alamogordo Dam The grave is protected from vandals and souvenir seekers by a chain-link fence
INTRODUCTION 7 The Rio Grande is the longest river in New Mexico It crosses the entire length of the state flowing from north to south Water from the river is used to irrigate crops along the river valley Though the Rio Grande is long it is not very deep The river’s shallowness prevents it from being used as a shipping route Tributaries of the Rio Grande within New Mexico include the Chama and Puerco rivers Water is scarce in New Mexico the state has less than 240 square miles of this precious natural resource With the exception of West Virginia New Mexico has the least amount of water of any state in the country Water bodies such as lakes and rivers take up much less than 1 percent of the state’s The Rio Grande is one of the longest rivers in the United States It was first explored by the Spanish in the 1500s Since 1925 the official colors of New Mexico’s flag have been red and yellow These are the colors of Spain On the flag a sun of red rays appears in the center of a yellow background The sun symbol is called a Zia It is an ancient Native American symbol that represents four things the four directions the four seasons the day sunrise noon evening and night and life childhood youth middle age and old age In 1950 a black bear cub was found after a forest fire in New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest The forest was destroyed but the cub later named Smokey survived Smokey became the national mascot in the fight against forest fires In 1963 the black bear was selected as the official state animal In Mexico the Rio Grande is called the Rio Bravo Rio is Spanish for river land area Most of New Mexico’s lakes are actually reservoirs The largest lake in the state is the Elephant Butte Reservoir which was created by damming the Rio Grande Ancient Native American buildings such as the Tyuonyi ruins at Bandelier National Monument are examples of some of New Mexico’s earliest settlements
