New Mexico
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State flag
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NEW MEXICO,
one of the Mountain states of the U.S., bounded on the N by
Colorado, on the E by Oklahoma and Texas, on the S by Texas and
the Mexican state of Chihuahua, and on the W by Arizona.
New Mexico became a U.S. territory in 1850, after the Mexican War, and with the coming of the railroad in 1879 developed economically, with ranching, mining, and farming growing in importance. It entered the Union on Jan. 6, 1912, as the 47th state. Today services (including tourism) and government dominated the economy, though mining, ranching, and manufacturing are also important. Visitors are attracted not only by the scenic beauty of New Mexico’s deserts and mountains but also by the rich Indian and Spanish cultural heritage that distinguishes the state. The region N of Mexico was named Nuevo Mexico by a Spanish explorer in the 1560s. The name was translated and applied to the U.S. territory and later to the state. New Mexico has acquired the nickname Land of Enchantment.
| NEW MEXICO STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
January 6, 1912; 47th state |
| CAPITAL: |
Santa Fe |
| MOTTO: |
Crescit eundo (It grows as it goes) |
| NICKNAME: |
Land of Enchantment |
| STATE SONGS: |
“O, Fair New Mexico” (words and music by Elizabeth Garrett); “Así es Nuevo MÉxico” (words and music by Amadeo Lucero) |
| STATE TREE: |
Piñon |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Yucca flower |
| STATE BIRD: |
Chaparral bird (roadrunner) |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
1,819,046; 36th among the states |
| AREA: |
314,939 sq km (121,598 sq mi); 5th largest
state; includes 605 sq km (234 sq mi) of inland water |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
Wheeler Peak, 4011 m (13,161 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
866 m (2842 ft), along the shore of Red Bluff Lake |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
5 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 3 representatives |
| GOVERNOR: |
Bill Richardson (Dem.) Took office January 2003 |
New Mexico, with an area of 314,939 sq km (121,598 sq mi),
is the fifth largest state in the U.S.; 33.1% of the land
area is owned by the federal government. The state is roughly square
in shape, and its extreme dimensions are about 630 km (about 390
mi) from N to S and about 565 km (about 350 mi) from E to W. Elevations
range from 866 m (2842 ft) at Red Bluff Lake in the SE to 4011 m
(13,161 ft) atop Wheeler Peak in the N. The approximate mean elevation
in the state is 1737 m (5700 ft).
New Mexico has great diversity of topographic relief,
from desert
basins to lofty snowcapped peaks. The E third of the state is part
of the Great Plains. The portion of this region lying S of the Canadian
R. is known as the High Plains, or Llano Estacado. The N portion
contains eroded formations such as mesas and buttes. The N central
part of the state is occupied by an extension of the Rocky Mts.
The gorge of the Rio Grande extends from N to S, dividing this rugged
region in half: To the E lie the Sangre de Cristo Mts.; to the W
are the Nacimiento Mts. The central and SW parts of the state are
occupied
by the Basin and Range Region, which consists of a series of mountain
ranges interspersed with valleys and desert basins. The NW quadrant
of New Mexico is part of the Colorado Plateau, an area of broad valleys
and plains, cut by deep canyons and dotted with mesas. The San Juan
Basin in the extreme NE of this region is an area of relatively
low relief.
The major rivers of New Mexico rise in the Rocky Mts. region and radiate outward. The state’s major river, the Rio Grande,
flows S through the center of the state and provides water for the
many settlements in its valley. The Pecos R., a tributary of the
Rio Grande, rises in the Sangre de Cristo Mts. and flows S. The
Canadian R. and its tributaries flow generally E across the NE part
of the state. The Chaco and San Juan rivers flow generally W across
the NW part of the state. In the SW two rivers that do not rise
in the Rocky Mts.—the Gila and San Francisco—are
locally important; both flow W. New Mexico has few sizable natural
lakes, and most of these are found in the mountain ranges of the
N central part of the state. Larger artificial bodies of water include
Elephant Butte Reservoir, as well as Conchas Lake, Caballo and Navajo
reservoirs, and Lake Sumner.
New Mexico has a mild, semiarid to arid continental
climate.
Although topographic diversity causes a wide range of precipitation and
temperatures, the climate can be characterized as one of abundant
sunshine, low relative humidity, and a wide annual and daily
temperature
range. The average annual temperature ranges from about 4.4° C
(about 40° F) in the mountains of the N central region to
about 17.8° C (about 64° F) in the S. The recorded
temperature has ranged from –45.6° C (–50° F)
in 1951 to 46.7° C (116° F) in 1934. The average
annual precipitation ranges from only 254 mm (10 in) in the S and
central
parts of the state to more than 508 mm (more than 20 in) in the
mountainous areas. Most rain falls in thundershowers. Annual snowfall
averages from 76 mm (3 in) in the S to 2540 mm (100 in) in the N
mountains.
| NEW MEXICO AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Albuquerque |
Roswell |
| Average January temperature range |
–4.4° to 8.3° C |
24° to 47° F |
–6.1° to 12.8° C |
21° to 55° F |
| Average July temperature range |
18.3° to 33.3° C |
65° to 92° F |
17.8° to 35° C |
64° to 95° F |
| Average annual temperature |
13.9° C |
57° F |
15° C |
59° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
203 mm |
8 in |
279 mm |
11 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
279 mm |
11 in |
279 mm |
11 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
58 |
49 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
33% |
37% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
172 |
176 |
More than 6000 species of plants have been identified in New Mexico,
ranging from desert plants to alpine vegetation. Various grasses and shrubs are found in the Great Plains region. In the deserts
of the S are cactus, mesquite, sagebrush, and, near watercourses,
cottonwood and desert willow trees. On lower mountain slopes are
desert grasses, creosote bush, juniper, and piñon pine.
At higher elevations are forests of yellow, ponderosa, and bristlecone
pine, as well as oak, maple, aspen, spruce, and birch. A total of
22% of New Mexico’s land area is forest-covered;
less than one-third of the forest is of commercial value.
Because of the diversity of natural environments, New Mexico
has a great variety of wildlife. Among the larger mammals are black
bear, pronghorn antelope, mountain lion, bobcat, mule and white-tailed
deer, and coyote. Barbary sheep from North Africa have been introduced
in mountain areas. Other wildlife includes jack rabbit, badger,
prairie dog, mink, and beaver. Game birds include prairie chicken,
quail, grouse, pheasant, and wild turkey. Rattlesnakes are also
present, and the tarantula is found in the SW. Streams contain trout,
bass, crappie, and catfish.
New Mexico is rich in minerals, especially energy-related minerals.
Coal, petroleum, and natural gas occur in the San Juan Basin and
at various places in the Great Plains region. Major uranium sources
are in the W part of the state. Potash, found in the SE, and copper, mined
in the SW, are also important. Other mineral resources include gold,
silver, iron ore, lead, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc.
According to the 2000 census, New Mexico had 1,819.046
inhabitants,
an increase of 20.1% over 1990. In 2000 the average population
density was 15.0 people per sq mi of land area. Whites made up 66.8% of
the population and blacks 1.9%. Also residing in the state
were 173,483 American Indians, constituting about 9.5% of
the total population, 19,255 Asians, and 1503 Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islanders. (These figures do not include the 3.6% of
the population who reported more than one race.) The principal Indian
groups
living in New Mexico were the Pueblo Indians, the Navajo Indians, and
the Apache; many of the Indians resided on reservations in the
state. A total of 765,386 persons, or about 42.1% of the
total population, were of Hispanic background. The Spanish-Mexican
cultural influence is strong, and many people in the state speak
both Spanish and English. The state’s largest cities were
Albuquerque; Las Cruces; Santa Fe, the capital; Rio Rancho; and
Roswell.
According to a 2000 survey, Roman Catholics formed the largest single religious group, accounting for about 37% of the total population and 63% of all religious adherents in the state; other major religious groups included the Southern Baptist Convention (7.3% of the population), the United Methodist Church (2.3%), andthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2.3%).
In 2000 about 75% of all New Mexicans lived in areas broadly defined as urban, with the rest living in rural areas.
| POPULATION OF NEW MEXICO SINCE 1850 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1850 |
62,000 |
7% |
| 1880 |
120,000 |
6% |
| 1900 |
195,000 |
14% |
| 1920 |
360,000 |
18% |
| 1940 |
532,000 |
33% |
| 1950 |
681,000 |
50% |
| 1960 |
951,000 |
66% |
| 1970 |
1,017,000 |
70% |
| 1980 |
1,303,000 |
72% |
| 1990 |
1,515,069 |
73% |
| 2000 |
1,819,046 |
75% |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST CITIES IN NEW MEXICO |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Albuquerque |
448,607 |
384,736 |
| Las Cruces |
74,267 |
62,126 |
| Santa Fe |
62,203 |
55,859 |
| Rio Rancho |
51,765 |
32,505 |
| Roswell |
45,293 |
44,654 |
| Farmington |
37,844 |
33,997 |
| Alamogordo |
35,582 |
27,596 |
| Clovis |
32,667 |
30,954 |
| Hobbs |
28,657 |
29,115 |
| Carlsbad |
25,625 |
24,952 |
New Mexico has had to overcome the problems presented by a
widely scattered and bilingual population in order to proceed with
the development of the state’s educational system. New
Mexico’s cultural institutions are largely concentrated
in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Although a royal decree provided for a public school
system
for the territory in 1721, it was not until the 1850s that the first
permanent schools were founded in New Mexico. The public school
system was established in 1891. In 2002 New Mexico had a combined public school enrollment of about 320,000 pupils, including 224,000 in prekindergarten through grade 8, the rest in public high school. Some 16, 000 students attended private schools. In the same period New Mexico’s institutions of higher education had a combined enrollment of about 121,000 students, of whom 112,000 attended public colleges and universities. Among notable institutions were New Mexico State University (1888), in Las Cruces; New Mexico Highlands University (1893), in Las Vegas; Western New Mexico University (1893), in Silver City; the University of
New Mexico (1889), in Albuquerque; New Mexico Institute of Mining and
Technology (1889), in Socorro; Eastern New Mexico University
(1934), in Portales; and Saint John’s College (1964) and
the College of Santa Fe (1947), both in Santa Fe.
Among the state’s major museums are the Museum of
New Mexico (1909) and the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum (1972), in Santa Fe, and the University Art Museum (1963) at the University of New Mexico, the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology (1932), and the National Atomic Museum (1969), in Albuquerque. Also of importance are the Roswell Museum and Art Center (1937), in Roswell, and the International Space Hall of Fame at the Space Center (1973), located near White Sands, home of the nation’s early space program, in Alamogordo. The Albuquerque Dance Theater and New Mexico Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1932 as the Albuquerque Symphony Orchestra) are based in Albuquerque. The Santa Fe Opera (1957) and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival (1972) are internationally known.
New Mexico honors its Indian and Spanish heritage in
many historical
sites. Acoma Pueblo is believed to be the oldest continually occupied
settlement in the U.S. The Palace of the Governors, built by the
Spanish in 1610 in Santa Fe, is the oldest public building in the
U.S., and the Mission of San Miguel of Santa Fe is one of the oldest
churches in the country. Other Indian sites include Taos Pueblo;
Aztec Ruins National Monument; Chaco Culture National Historical
Park; and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Two important
natural sites are Carlsbad Caverns National Park, near Carlsbad, and El
Morro National Monument, encompassing Inscription Rock, near
Grants; Bandelier National Monument is near Santa Fe.
New Mexico’s vast areas of national forests and mountains and
its scenic rivers and lakes make it a haven for hunting, fishing,
boating, swimming, hiking, and camping enthusiasts. The state also
has several major ski areas.
The first radio station licensed
in the state, KOB in Albuquerque, began operation in 1922. KOB-TV
in Albuquerque, New Mexico’s first commercial television station,
began broadcasting in 1948. El Crepúsculo de la
Libertad (The Dawn of Liberty), the state’s first Spanish-language
newspaper, and the Santa Fe Republican, the first
English-language newspaper, were initially printed in Santa Fe in
1834 and 1847, respectively. In 2004 New Mexico had 18
daily newspapers with a total daily circulation of about 274,000;
they included the Albuquerque Journal and the Albuquerque
Tribune, in Albuquerque, and the Santa Fe New Mexican,
in Santa Fe. In 2003, about 54% of New Mexico households had computers and 61% had Internet access.
New Mexico is governed under its original constitution, adopted
in 1911 and put into effect in 1912, as amended. An amendment to
the constitution may be proposed by the legislature or by a constitutional convention.
To become effective, an amendment proposed by the legislature must
be approved by persons voting on the issue in a general election.
The chief executive of New Mexico is a governor, who is popularly elected
to a 4-year term and who (effective 1994) may serve no more than
two terms in succession. The popularly elected lieutenant governor
succeeds the governor should the latter resign, die, or be removed
from office. Other elected state officials include the secretary
of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor, and commissioner
of public lands.
The bicameral New Mexico legislature is composed of a senate and a house of representatives. The 42 members of the senate are
elected to 4-year terms, and the 70 members of the house are elected
to 2-year terms.
New Mexico’s highest court, the supreme court, has
five justices elected to 8-year terms. The intermediate court of
appeals comprises 10 judges elected to 8-year terms. The major trial courts are the district courts, with a total of 75 judges elected to serve 6-year terms.
In the early 2000s New Mexico had 33 counties, 101 municipalities, 96 school districts, and 628 special districts. Each county is governed by three county commissioners. New Mexico’s Indian reservations are managed by elective
councils.
New Mexico elects two senators and three representatives to
the U.S. Congress. The state has five electoral votes in presidential
elections.
Since 1912, in both state and national politics,
Democrats and Republicans have been elected in relatively equal
numbers, although Democrats have retained a substantial lead in voter
registration. The Green party gained strength in the 1990s, siphoning
enough votes from Democrats to tip the balance to the GOP in several
close elections. Peter V. (Pete) Domenici (1932– ), a Republican first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, was reelected to a sixth 6-year term in November 2002. Bill Richardson (1947– ), a Democratof Hispanic ancestry, served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1983–97), as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (1997–98), and as secretary of energy (1998–2001), before winning election in November 2002 as state governor; reelected to the governorship with a 69% majority in November 2006, he launched a bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
Spanish settlers, who first arrived i n the region that is
now New Mexico in the 1600s, set up a self-sufficient farming and
ranching economy. Because of the dry climate, most settlement was
along the rivers. No major economic change occurred until after
the completion, in 1879, of the region’s first railroad.
In the next few decades cattle ranching grew on a large scale. The
mining of gold, silver, and other minerals became important, and
agriculture spread to newly irrigated land as more settlers moved
to the region. A new aspect was added to the economy when the Los
Alamos Research Laboratory (now Los Alamos National Laboratory, established in 1943, developed the world’s first atomic bomb. This and other military establishments stimulated the growth of associated private industry.
| NEW MEXICO STATE ECONOMY |
| STATE BUDGET (in thousands) |
| General revenue |
$11,809,742 |
| General expenditure |
$11,024,686 |
| Accumulated debt |
$5,411,287 |
 |
| STATE TAXES PER CAPITA |
$2,103 |
|
| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$27,644 |
|
| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
18.6% |
|
| EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION |
| Management, business, finance |
110,000 |
| Professional and related |
178,000 |
| Services |
149,000 |
| Sales and related |
94,000 |
| Office and administrative support |
110,000 |
| Farming, fishing, forestry |
13,000 |
| Construction and extraction |
62,000 |
| Installation, maintenance, repair |
32,000 |
| Production |
39,000 |
| Transportation and moving |
53,000 |
|
| GROSS STATE PRODUCT |
$69.3 billion |
|
| NET FARM INCOME |
$716 million |
| Principal products |
dairy products, cattle, hay |
Farming and ranching account for about 2% of the
annual gross state product in New Mexico. The state has some 13,500
ranches and farms, which average 1328 ha (3281 acres) in size.
Livestock and livestock products make up about two-thirds of New
Mexico’s yearly agricultural income. Grazing land is found throughout the
state, except in the mountainous areas of the N and W. Most cattle
are raised in the E half of the state, especially in the Llano Estacado
and the Pecos R. valley. Most sheep are raised in the SE and NW.
Crops account for about one-third of New Mexico’s
annual agricultural income. The leading crops are hay, cotton, and
vegetables. Most of the state’s cropland is concentrated
in three areas that combine adequate rainfall (for dry farming)
or the availability of irrigation water with a sufficiently long
frost-free period. These areas are the Llano Estacado, which grows
wheat, sorghum, and peanuts by dry farming and cotton by irrigation;
the Pecos R. valley (alfalfa and cotton); and the Rio Grande Valley
(cotton and pecans). More than half of all cropland is irrigated.
Forestry is of minor importance to the New Mexico economy.
Small logging camps, scattered in the mountains of the N and W,
supply ponderosa and piñon pine and juniper to a number
of sawmills.
The mining industry accounts for about one-tenth of the annual
gross state product in New Mexico. The principal mineral products
are natural gas, petroleum, copper, coal, potassium salts (potash), and uranium. New Mexico is the nation’s leading supplier of potash, produced from mines near Carlsbad; the state ranks second in the U.S. in copper production. The greatest mineral wealth, however, is in energy resources. Petroleum and natural gas, of which New Mexico is a leading national producer, account for nearly two-thirds
of the state’s yearly mineral production. The state also
has vast reserves of low-sulfur coal and half of the country’s
known reserves of uranium.
In 2005, New Mexico’s enterprises engaged in manufacturing accounted for about 9% of the gross state product; at the end of 2006 the manufacturing sector had about 38,000 workers, some 4000 fewer than in the year 2000. Manufacturing accounted for $2.4 billion, or 96%, of New Mexico’s total exports of $2.5 billion in 2005. Principal products include electronic equipment, food products, nonmetallic minerals and fabricated metals, petroleum and coal, plastics and rubber, and transportation equipment. Other manufactures include chemicals, wood products, machinery, and stone, clay, and glass products. More than half of New Mexico’s manufacturing is concentrated in Albuquerque. A number of high-technology
military facilities, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia
Laboratories, and the Air Force Special Weapons Center, are located
nearby. The making of arts and crafts items is important to certain
localities, particularly Taos, Santa Fe, and most Indian communities.
Tourism is a major industry in New Mexico. Each year
out-of-state visitors produce more about $4 billion for the state economy.
Federal facilities, including Carlsbad Caverns National Park and
ten national monuments, are visited by nearly 2 million tourists
annually. In addition, the state maintains a system of some 40 parks
and monuments that attract close to 5 million visitors. Also popular
are
the national forests, Indian pueblos, and the cities of Albuquerque,
Santa Fe, and Taos.
Albuquerque is the principal hub in a network of about 102,900 km (about 64,000 mi) of federal, state, and local roads. This includes about 1600 km (1000 mi) of interstate highways that link the state’s major cities. Interstate highways cross the state from E to W and from N to S, the latter following the route of the old Spanish road, the Camino Real, along the Rio Grande Valley to Santa Fe and into E Colorado. New Mexico is also served by 3600 km (2250 mi) of Class I railroad track.
The state has 161 public use airports and 19 heliports. Albuquerque International Airport is the busiest facility. Pipelines carry much of New Mexico’s natural-gas output to neighboring states.
Electricity generating plants in New Mexico have a total capacity
over 6 million kw and produce some 30-35 billion kwh of electricity each year. Close to 90% of the yearly electricity output derives from coal-fired thermal power plants. The most important of these plants is the huge Four Corners project near Farmington. Most of the rest is produced by plants using natural gas.
Stone Age remains found near Clovis, in the eastern part of
the state, show that human beings first entered the area of New
Mexico more than 10,000 years ago. Later Indian cultures practiced
farming and irrigation. The Anasazi culture flourished in the San
Juan River Basin in the 1st millennium ad. By ad
1300
thousands of Pueblo Indians, descendants of the Anasazi, lived in
18 towns along the Rio Grande from Taos south to Isleta (below
present-day
Albuquerque). The Pueblos were advanced in domestic arts and
crafts—pottery,
weaving, and home decoration. Some of their adobe dwellings were
five stories high. They domesticated turkeys, and in the fields
near their towns they raised corn, beans, and squash for food and
cotton for weaving into blankets. In the 15th century the serenity
of their lives was shattered by the arrival of the nomadic Navajo and
Apache tribes. The newcomers raided the prosperous Pueblo settlements
for food, clothing, tools, and Pueblo children, whom they enslaved,
initiating four centuries of warfare between the two groups.
In 1539 a Spanish expedition under a Franciscan priest,
Marcos
de Niza (c. 1495–1558), explored present New Mexico, visiting
the Zuni Pueblo. The following year Francisco Coronado ascended
the Rio Grande. Spanish colonization of the area began in 1598, and
Santa Fe was founded in 1610. The Spanish authorities imposed
their rule on the Pueblos and converted many of them to Christianity,
but the missionaries’ attempts to suppress the Indians’ traditional
religious customs caused resentment. In 1680 the Pueblos rose in
revolt, killing many of the settlers and forcing the rest to flee.
The Spanish reoccupied Santa Fe in 1692. By 1696 they
had
reconquered the whole area, and the Spanish crown thereafter recognized
the Pueblos’ title to their ancestral lands. New towns
were established in the 18th century. Albuquerque, founded in 1706,
had a population of more than 4000 by 1800. Both Spanish and Pueblo
communities were exposed to continual raids from the Navajo, Apache,
Comanche, and other nomadic Indian peoples in the region, and enough
troops were seldom available to defend the province. Nevertheless,
its population grew, numbering 30,000 at the beginning of the 19th
century. In 1821, Spain gave up all of its American mainland
possessions, and New Mexico became a province of the new nation of
Mexico.
Mexican rule brought many changes, as Spain had always excluded
foreigners from New Mexico. Under Mexico, trade with the U.S. was
permitted, and pack trains began to move back and forth along the
Santa Fe Trail from Saint Louis, Mo. American merchants and trappers
flocked to Santa Fe and Taos. The cultural clash thus began between
the “Anglos” (Americans of European origin) on
the one hand and the Hispanos (New Mexicans of mixed Spanish and
Indian ancestry) and Indians on the other. By this time, those of
pure Spanish ancestry were few, but Spanish culture was still dominant.
Most natives spoke Spanish and were members of the Roman Catholic
church, although the Indians retained their dialects and traditional
ceremonies. Relations between natives and Anglos became tense when
the new Texas republic tried to seize New Mexico in 1841. Meanwhile,
expansionists in the U.S. were demanding the annexation of all the
Southwest and California. President James K. Polk declared war on
Mexico in 1846 and sent Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny and the Army of
the West to invade New Mexico. Kearny took Santa Fe without firing
a shot and proclaimed New Mexico part of the U.S. on Aug. 18, 1846.
Some Hispano New Mexicans welcomed the victorious Americans,
but Indians at Taos Pueblo revolted and murdered Charles Bent (1799–1847),
the governor appointed by Kearny. All Hispano New Mexicans and Pueblo
Indians became U.S. citizens by terms of the 1848 treaty ending
the war between the U.S. and Mexico, but Congress denied the area
statehood and created the territory of New Mexico (including present
New Mexico and Arizona) as part of the Compromise of 1850 that brought
California into the Union as a state. During the American Civil
War a Confederate force from Texas invaded the territory, fought
its way up the Rio Grande, captured Santa Fe, and headed north,
but was defeated at Glorieta Pass in March 1862 by the Colorado
Volunteers, fighting for the Union. This ended the Confederacy’s
hope of seizing the Southwest and California.
Decades of unrest followed between native New Mexicans and
Anglos. In 1863, Congress carved the territory of Arizona out of
western New Mexico. The Navajos, Apaches, and Comanches were subdued
by U.S. Army units, but the forced removal of the Navajos—their
tragic “Long Walk” to a reservation at Bosque Redondo—was
a failure; the starving people were returned in 1868 to their San
Juan River homeland. Meanwhile, the economy of the territory was
stimulated by the coming of the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads,
by mineral finds, and by the growth of tourism. Nevertheless, most
Americans before 1900 thought of New Mexico as an exotic foreign
country with a strange language and strange foods and dress, known
for lawlessness, cattle wars, and land-grant skulduggery and as
the home of outlaws such as Billy the Kid, who was killed in a gunfight
at Fort Sumner in 1881. A more attractive notion of New Mexico began
to emerge at the turn of the century, when artists from the East
began describing the romantic charms of Taos and Santa Fe, and health
seekers began moving to Albuquerque to take advantage of its sunny
climate.
New Mexico remained a territory for 62 years, partly
because
its residents feared the higher taxes that would come with statehood,
and partly because Congress feared that democracy would not work
in a Spanish-speaking community. The public schools began teaching
English in 1898, however, and New Mexico was admitted to the Union
on Jan. 6, 1912, as the 47th state.
The nation’s oldest society found itself plunged
into modernity when the secret city of Los Alamos, near Santa Fe,
became the birthplace of the atomic bomb in 1943. Two years later
the world’s first atomic bomb was exploded near Alamogordo,
south of Santa Fe. The state’s economy then boomed with
the coming of the White Sands Missile Range, Kirtland Air Force
Base, and nuclear research installations at Albuquerque. The state’s
empty desert areas came to life with the discovery of oil and gas
and, near Grants, of uranium. The modest tourism of the early 1900s
became a major industry, with millions visiting Carlsbad Caverns
National Park annually. Others flocked to Santa Fe to experience
the Spanish colonial atmosphere.
While sharing in the rapid economic growth common throughout America’s Sun Belt in recent decades, New Mexico has continued to attach great importance to its characteristic cultural heritage. Concern over political reform and environmental preservation aided the growth of the Green party in New Mexico in the 1990s. With the approval of federal regulators, the Waste Isolation Pilot
Project (WIPP), a controversial underground nuclear-waste storage
facility near Carlsbad, became operational in 1999. Plans to build the world’s first all-commercial spaceport in S New Mexico were announced in December 2005; the facility would launch paying customers on scheduled spaceflights beginning in 2008.