New Mexico State Facts, Symbols and History

New Mexico Fast Facts

Capital: 73,199 Santa Fe (popularity). (2011 estimate.)

New Mexico population: 2,085,538 ( 2012 est.) (36th)

New Mexico Quarter The second quarter commemorative coin issued in 2008 honors New Mexico and is the 47th coin in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program.New Mexico, “Land of Enchantment” was admitted to the Union on January 6, 1912, becoming our Nation’s 47th state. The New Mexico quarter shows the Zia symbol of the sun along the state’s topographical outine. Coin inscriptions read “Land of Enchantment”, “New Mexico” and “1912”.Native American cultures have had a strong influence and are found throughout New Mexico. Pueblo Zia believes that the symbol of the sun represents the giver of all good. From the circle life and love are represented, with no beginning or end. The four groups of four rays represent these four directions, these four seasons, the four phases of the day (sunrise, noon, evening, night) and the four divisions of life (childhood, youth, midlife, old age).

Language: English, others

Largest Cities: (by population) Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Roswell, Farmington

Name: The Spanish translation reportedly means ” Place of Mexitli ” – one of the Aztec Indian gods.

Statehood: January 6, 1912 (47th state)

Symbols of New Mexico

• Animal: black bear
• Bird: chaparral (or Roadrunner)
• Flag of New Mexico
• Flower: yucca flower
• Insect: tarantula hawk wasp
• Motto: “It Grows When It Goes”
• Nicknames: (most used) Land of Enchantment
• Reptile: Whiptail lizard
• Song: “Oh New Mexico Fair”
• State seal
• Wood: walnut pine

New Mexico is a state in the southwestern United States, one of the so-called Mountain States. Population 2,085,287 (2013 data). The capital is Santa Fe, the largest city is Albuquerque. Other major cities are Las Cruces, Roswell, Farmington, and Rio Rancho. See cities and towns in New Mexico.

The official nickname is “Land of Wonders” (Land of Enchantment).

The area of New Mexico is 315.194 thousand km (5th place among the states of the country), and almost all of this area is occupied by land. New Mexico borders Colorado to the north, Oklahoma and Texas to the east, Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora to the south, and Arizona to the west. The ridges of the Rocky Mountains – San Juan and Sangre de Cristo – pass through the central part of the state. To the west lies the Colorado Plateau, to the east the Great Plains. The main rivers of the state are the Rio Grande and its tributary, the Pecos. Both flow in deep gorges. The climate is continental, arid.

• AbbreviationFinder: Demonstrates how the two-letter acronym of NM stands for New Mexico and a list of frequently used abbreviations related to the state of New Mexico.

Before the arrival of Europeans, Indian tribes lived in New Mexico, creating the Folsom, Sandia, and Anasazi cultures. By the time the Spaniards arrived, the Apache, Comanche, Navajo and Pueblo Indians lived here.

In 1536, the Spaniards Cabeza de Vaca and Estabanico appeared here. At the end of the 1530s. Franciscan missionaries came here in search of the legendary gold reserves of Cibola. In 1540 – 1542. the expedition of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado visited here. In 1598, the Spanish conquistadors founded the settlement of San Juan Pueblo on the Rio Grande, in 1609 the conquistador Pedro de Peralta built the settlement of Santa Fe at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. In 1680, the Pueblo Indians rebelled against Spanish rule. In 1706, the city of Albuquerque arose on the site of scattered settlements.

In 1803, Napoleon sold northern New Mexico to the United States. In 1821, the New Mexico Territory became part of the Mexican state. At the same time, merchants from the southern states of the United States paved the way to Santa Fe.

In 1846, during the US war with Mexico, American General Stephen Kearney occupied Santa Fe and, as a result of negotiations with the Mexicans, gained control of the region.

In 1850 (as a result of the so-called Compromise of 1850) the Territory of New Mexico was formed. It was subsequently enlarged in 1853 as a result of the Gadsden Purchase. The final boundaries of New Mexico were established in 1863.

At the start of the Civil War, most of the New Mexico Territory was controlled by the Southerners, but after the victory of the Union Army at the Battle of Glorieta Pass in March 1862, power here passed to the Northerners.

On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state of the United States.

During World War II, New Mexico became a testing ground for atomic weapons – on July 16, 1945, the first test of an atomic bomb was carried out in the desert near Alamogordo.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2003 the state’s GDP amounted to $ 57 billion. There are agricultural enterprises here, and irrigation is developed. The role of tourism and the service sector is significant.