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Name = New Mexico | Fullname = State of New Mexico Estado de Nuevo México | Flag = Flag of New Mexico.svg | Flaglink = Flag Of New Mexico | Seal = New Mexico state seal.png | Map = Map of USA highlighting New Mexico.png | Nickname = Land of Enchantment | Motto = Crescit eundo (It grows as it goes) | Capital = Santa Fe | LargestCity = Albuquerque | Governor = Bill Richardson (D) | Senators = Pete Domenici (R) Jeff Bingaman (D) | PostalAbbreviation = NM | OfficialLang = None; English and Spanish ''de facto'' | AreaRank = 5th | TotalArea = 315,194 | LandArea = 314,590 | WaterArea = 607 | PCWater = 0.2 | PopRank = 36th | 2000Pop = 1,819,046 | DensityRank = 45th | 2000Density = 5.79 | AdmittanceOrder = 47th | AdmittanceDate = January 6 , 1912 | TimeZone = -7/ -6 | Longitude = 103°W to 109°W | Latitude = 31°20'N to 37°N | Width = 550 | Length = 595 | HighestElev = Wheeler Peak , 13,161 ft, 4,014 | MeanElev = 5,692 ft, 1735 | LowestElev = Red Bluff Reservoir, 2,817 ft, 859 | ISOCode = US-NM | Website = www.newmexico.gov }} New Mexico ( state in the United States Of America . Over its relatively long history it has also been occupied by U.S. Amerindian Population s, part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain , a province of Mexico , and a U.S. Territory . New Mexico has the highest percentage of people of Hispanic ancestry of any state, some recent immigrants and others descendants of Spanish Colonist s. The state also has a large U.S. Amerindian population. As a result, the demographics and culture of the state are unique for their strong Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. Amerindian cultural influences. Geography The eastern border of New Mexico lies along 103 °W with Oklahoma , and 3 miles (5 km) west of 103 °W with Texas. Texas also lies south of most of New Mexico, although the southwestern boot-heel borders the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora . The western border with Arizona runs along 109 °W. The 37 °N parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado . The states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in the northwestern corner of New Mexico. The landscape ranges from wide, rose-colored deserts to broken mesas to high, snow-capped peaks. Despite New Mexico's arid image, heavily Forest ed mountain wildernesses cover a significant portion of the state. Part of the Rocky Mountains , the broken, north-south oriented Sangre De Cristo (Blood of Christ) range flanks both sides of the Rio Grande from the rugged, pastoral north through the center of the state. Cacti, Yucca s, Creosote Bush , Sagebrush , and desert grasses cover the broad, semiarid plains that cover the southern portion of the state. The Federal government protects millions of acres of beautiful New Mexico as national forests and monuments. Government lands include the Cibola National Forest , headquartered in Albuquerque, the Santa Fe National Forest , headquartered in Santa Fe , and Carson National Forest . The natural attractions of New Mexico include:
Visitors also frequent the surviving native pueblos of New Mexico. Tourists visiting these sites bring significant monies to the state. Other areas of geographical and scenic interest include Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and the Valles Caldera National Preserve . The Gila Wilderness lies in the southwest of the state. See Also: Delaware Basin History Over its relatively long history it has also been occupied by U.S. Amerindian Population s, part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain , a province of Mexico , and a U.S. Territory . Amerindian Pueblos Prehistoric Amerindians used the land and minerals of New Mexico to build an early Southwestern culture millennia ago. Prehistoric Amerindian ruins indicate a presence at modern Santa Fe. Caves in the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque contain the remains of some of the earliest inhabitants of the New World. The Pueblo People built a flourishing sedentary culture in the 1200s , constructing small towns in the valley of the Rio Grande and pueblos nearby. The Spanish encountered Pueblo civilization in the 1500s . Word of the pueblos reached Cabeza De Vaca , a Spanish explorer, while traveling with his companion Estabanico in 1528 – 1536 . Fray Marcos De Niza enthusiastically identified the pueblos as the fabulously rich Seven Cities Of Cíbola , the fabled seven cities of gold. Dispatched from New Spain , Conquistador Francisco Vásquez De Coronado led a full-scale expedition to find these cities in 1540 – 1542 . Coronado camped near an excavated pueblo today preserved as Coronado National Memorial in 1541 . His maltreatment of the Pueblo people while exploring the upper Rio Grande valley led to hostility that impeded the Spanish conquest of New Mexico. The three largest pueblos of New Mexico are Zuni, Santo Domingo, and Laguna. Spanish colonization Juan De Oñate founded the San Juan colony on the Rio Grande in 1598 , the first European settlement in the future state of New Mexico. Oñate pioneered El Camino Real , "The Royal Road" as a 700 mile (1100 km) lifeline from the rest of New Spain to his remote colony. Oñate was made the first governor of the new Province Of New Mexico . The Native Americans at Acoma revolted against this Spanish encroachment but faced severe suppression. In battles with the Acomas, who refused subordination, he lost 11 soldiers and two servants, killed hundreds of Indians and punished 24 with amputation of a foot. The Franciscans found the pueblo people increasingly unwilling to consent to baptism by newcomers who continued to demand food, clothing and labor. In revolted violently in 1676 , and the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 drove the Spanish to abandon northern New Mexico until the campaign of Diego De Vargas Zapata reestablished Spanish control and returned Spanish colonists in 1692 . While developing Santa Fe as a trade center, the returning settlers founded the old town of Albuquerque in 1706 , naming for the viceroy of New Spain, the Duke of Albuquerque. Prior to its founding, Albuquerque consisted of several haciendas and communities along the lower Rio Grande. They constructed the Church of San Felipe de Nerí ( 1706 ). The thorough development of ranching and some farming in the 1700s laid the foundations for the state's still-flourishing Hispanic culture. Mexican province Napoleon Bonaparte of France sold the vast unsettled and undeveloped Louisiana Purchase , which extended into the northeastern corner of New Mexico, to the United States in 1803 . As a part of New Spain , the claims for the remainder of the province of New Mexico passed to independent Mexico following the 1810 -1821 Mexican War Of Independence . Mexico, wary of encroachments by the growing United States, began issuing Land Grant s to groups of Mexican families as an incentive to populate the province. Small trapping parties from the United States had previously reached Santa Fe, but the Spanish authorities forbade them to trade. Trader William Becknell returned to the United States in November 1821 with news that independent Mexico welcomed trade through Santa Fe. Becknell left Independence, Missouri , for Santa Fe early in 1822 with the first party of traders. The Santa Fe trail trading company headed by the brothers Charles Bent and William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain, was one of the most successful in the West. They had their first trading post in the area in 1826 and by 1833 they had built their adobe fort and trading post called Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River. This fort and trading post, located about 200 miles east of Taos New Mexico, was the only place settled by Whites along the Santa Fe trail before it hit Taos. Ceran St. Vrain run branches of their business in Taos and Santa Fe. Wagon caravans thereafter made the 40- to 60-day annual trek along the 780 mile (1,260 km) Santa Fe Trail , usually leaving in early summer and returning after a 4 to 5 week stay in New Mexico. The trail divided into Mountain and Cimarron Divisions southwest of Dodge City, Kansas . The rugged Mountain Division passed over Raton Pass and rejoined the more direct Cimarron Division near Fort Union, New Mexico . The dry southern Cimarron route offered poor short grass and little wildlife. The Santa Fe National Historic Trail follows the route of the old trail, with many sites marked or restored. The Republic Of Texas claimed the territory north and east of the Rio Grande when it successfully seceded from Mexico in 1836 . New Mexico authorities captured a group of Texans who embarked an Expedition to assert their claim to the province in 1841 . American territory American General , appointed military governor, was to occupy and maintain order in New Mexico with his approximate 800 men; a second group under Colonel Alexander William Doniphan , with a little over 800 men was ordered to capture Chihuahua Mexico and then join up with General Wool; the third of about 300 dragoons, under his own command, headed for California. The Mormon Battalion under Lt. Col. Phillip St.George Cooke was instructed to follow Kearny with wagons to establish a new southern route to California. Almost 200 of Kearney's dragoons were sent back to New Mexico when Kearny encountered Kit Carson, traveling East, who was bearing messages that California had already been subdued. In California about 400 men of the California Battalion under John C. Fremont and another 400 men under Commodore Robert Stockton of the U.S. Navy and Marines were in control of the approximate 7,000 Californios from San Diego to Sacramento . New Mexico territory, which then included present-day Arizona, was under undisputed United States control. The exact boundary with Texas was uncertain. Texas initially claimed all land North of the Rio Grande; but later agreed to the present boundaries. Kearny also protected citizens under a form of martial law called the Kearny Code, essentially Kearny and the U.S. army's promise that religious and legal claims would be respected by the United States and law and order maintained. The Kearny Code became one of the bases of New Mexico's legal code during its territorial period, one of the longest in United States history. Kearny's entrance into New Mexico was essentially without conflict as the Mexican authorities took all the money they could find and retreated into southern Mexico. After Kearny's departure, a skirmish called the Rebellion broke out in the pueblo of Taos. The Taos rebels, nearly all Peublo Indians, ambushed and killed acting Governor Charles Bent and about ten other Americans or so living in the town on January 19, 1847. Reacting quickly, a U.S. detachment under Colonel Sterling Price marched on Taos and attacked the rebels who retreated to a strongly built church. Concentrated cannon fire upon the church killed about 150 rebels and led to the capture of 400 more. Six rebel leaders were arraigned, tried and, on February 9, 1847 hanged for their role in the Taos Revolt . Price fought two more engagements with rebels, which included many Pueblo Indians, and by mid-February had the revolt well under control. President Polk promoted Price to a brevet rank of Brigader General for his sterling service. Casualties totaled more than 300 rebels killed and about thirty "Anglos," as American troops and settlers were often called. Under the Treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 , Mexico ceded much of its mostly unsettled northern holdings, today known as the American Southwest to the United States of America in exchange for an end to hostilities, the evacuation of Mexico City and many other areas under American control. Mexico also received $15 million cash, plus the assumption of slightly more than $3 million in outstanding Mexican debts. New Mexico, the name given to the territory between Texas and California, technically met the population criteria to become a state. But congress declined to make them a state. The Senate also struck out Article X of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which said that vast land grants in New Mexico (nearly always gifts by the local authorities to their friends) would all be recognized. The decision to strike down Article X remains an unpopular one, especially in some of the region's Hispanic communities, as it eventually led to millions of acres of land, timber, and water being removed from Mexican-issued land grants and placed back in the public domain. Spanish-issued land grants, including those made to the Pueblos, have nearly all been respected as legitimate. The Congressional Compromise Of 1850 halted a bid for statehood under a proposed antislavery constitution. Texas transferred eastern New Mexico to the federal government, settling a lengthy boundary dispute. Under the compromise, the American government established the New Mexico Territory on September 9 , 1850 . The territory, which included all of Arizona , New Mexico and parts of Colorado , officially established its capital at Santa Fe in 1851 . The U.S. territorial New Mexico census of 1850 found 61,547 people living in all the territory of New Mexico. The people of New Mexico would determine whether to permit slavery under a proposed constitution at statehood, but the status of slavery during the territorial period provoked considerable debate. The granting of statehood was up to a Congress sharply divided on the slavary issue. Some (including Stephen A. Douglas ) maintained that the territory could not restrict slavery, as under the earlier Missouri Compromise , while others (including Abraham Lincoln ) insisted that older Mexican legal traditions, which forbade slavery, took precedence. Regardless of its official status, slavery was rarely seen in New Mexico. Statehood was finally granted to New Mexico on January 6 1912. Navajo and Apache raids and plundering led Kit Carson to abandon his intent to retire to a sheep ranch near Taos after the Mexican American War. Carson accepted an 1853 appointment as U.S. Indian agent with a headquarters at Taos, and fought the Indians with notable success. The United States acquired the southwestern boot heel of the state and southern Arizona below the Gila river in the mostly desert Gadsden Purchase of 1853. This purchase was desired when it was found that a much easier route for a proposed transcontinental railroad was located slightly south of the Gila river. This territory had not been explored or mapped when the Treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo was negotiated in 1848. The ever present Santa Anna was in power again in 1853 and needed the money from the Gadson Purchsase to fill his coffers and to pay the Mexican Army for that year. The Southern Pacific built the second transcontinental railroad though this purchased land in 1881. During the American Civil War , Confederate troops from Texas briefly occupied southern New Mexico. Union troops re-captured the territory in early 1862 . During the Civil War as Union troops were withdrawn to fight elsewhere Kit Carson helped to organize and command the 1st New Mexican Volunteers to engage in campaigns against the Apache , Navajo , and Comanche in New Mexico and Texas as well as participating in the Battle of Valverde against the confederates. Confederate troops withdrew after the Battle Of Glorieta Pass where Union regulars, Colorado Volunteers (The Pikes Peakers), and New Mexican Volunteers defeated them. The Arizona Territory was split off as a separate territory in 1863 . The Roman Catholic Church established an archbishopric center in Santa Fe in 1875 . The Santa Fe Railroad reached Lamy, New Mexico , 16 miles (26 km) from Santa Fe in 1879 and Santa Fe itself in 1880 , replacing the storied Santa Fe Trail . The new town of Albuquerque, platted in 1880 as the Santa Fe Railroad extended westward, quickly enveloped the old town. The railway encouraged the great cattle boom of the 1880s and the development of accompanying cow towns. Cattlemen feuded between each other and with authorities, most notably in the Lincoln County War . Outlaws included Billy The Kid . The cattle barons could not keep out sheepherders, and eventually homesteaders and squatters overwhelmed the cattlemen by fencing in and plowing under the "sea of grass" on which the cattle fed. Conflicting land claims led to bitter quarrels among the original Spanish inhabitants, cattle ranchers, and newer homesteaders. Despite destructive overgrazing, ranching survived as a mainstay of the New Mexican economy. Centurys of continued conflict with the Apache and the Navajo plagued the territory. The The Long Walk Of The Navajo , also called the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo in 1860-61 harshly repressed the Navajo but did put an end to their raiding. The Navajo returned to most of their lands in 1868. Sporadic Apache raiding continued until Apache chief Geronimo finally surrendered in 1886 . Albuquerque, on the upper Rio Grande, was incorporated in 1889 . Statehood Congress admitted New Mexico as the 47th state in the Union on January 6 , 1912 . The admission of the neighboring State of Arizona on February 14 , 1912 completed the contiguous 48 states. The United States government built the Los Alamos Research Center in 1943 amid the Second World War . Top-secret personnel there developed the Atomic Bomb , first detonated at Trinity Site in the desert on the White Sands Proving Grounds vaguely near Alamogordo on July 16 , 1945 . Albuquerque expanded rapidly after the war. High-altitude experiments near Roswell in 1947 reputedly led to persistent (unproven) claims by a few that the government captured and concealed extraterrestrial corpses and equipment. The state quickly emerged as a leader in nuclear, solar, and geothermal energy research and development. The Sandia National Laboratories , founded in 1949 , carried out nuclear research and special weapons development at Kirtland Air Force Base south of Albuquerque and at Livermore California . Located in the remote Chihuahuan Desert the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is located 26 miles southeast of Carlsbad . Here nuclear wastes are buried deep in carved out salt formation disposal rooms mined 2,150 feet underground in a 2,000-foot thick salt formation that has been stable for more than 200 million years. WIPP began operations on March 26, 1999. Demographics As of 2005, New Mexico has an estimated population of 1,928,384, which is an increase of 25,378, or 1.3%, from the prior year and an increase of 109,338, or 6.0%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 74,397 people (that is 143,617 births minus 69,220 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 37,501 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 27,974 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 9,527 people. As of 2004, 10% of the residents of the state were foreign-born, and more than 2% of state residents were illegal aliens. Race and ancestry The racial makeup of New Mexico:
New Mexico has the highest percentage of people of Hispanic ancestry of any state, some recent immigrants and others descendants of Spanish Colonist s and Indians. The state also has a large U.S. Amerindian population. A few Hispanos of colonial ancestry, thoroughy mixed with recent Mexican immigrants, are present in most of the state, especially northern, central, and northeastern New Mexico. Mexican immigrants, legal and otherwise, are prominent in southern parts of the state. The northwestern corner of the state is primarily occupied by American Indians, of which Navajos and Pueblos are the largest tribes. As a result, the demographics and culture of the state are unique for their strong American, Colonial Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. Amerindian cultural influences. According to the Census the five largest ancestry groups in New Mexico are: Spanish /Hispano (24%), Mexican (18.1%), German (9.9%), Native American (9.5%), and English (7.6%). Many are mixtures of all of these groups and more. 7.2% of New Mexico's population was reported as under 5, 28% under 18, and 11.7% were 65 or older. Females make up approximately 50.8% of the population. Languages Religion New Mexico has the highest percentage of Catholics of any Western state. And like many other Western States , New Mexico has a higher-than-average percentage of people who claim no religion in comparison to other U.S. State s.
New Mexico belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Santa Fe. New Mexico has three Diocese s, one of which is an Archdiocese : Economy The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Mexico's total state product in 2003 was $57 billion. Per capital personal income in 2003 was $24,995, 48th in the nation. {Link without Title} Cattle and dairy products top the list of major animal products of New Mexico. Cattle, sheep, and other livestock graze most of the arable land of the state throughout the year. Limited but scientifically controlled dryland farming prospers alongside cattle ranching. Major crops include hay, nursery stock, pecans, and Chile Pepper s. Hay and Sorghum top the list of major dryland crops. Farmers also produce onions, potatoes, and dairy products. New Mexico specialty crops include Piñon Nut s, Pinto Bean s, and chiles. In the desert and semiarid portions of the state, the scant rainfall evaporates rapidly, generally leaving insufficient water supplies for large-scale irrigation. The Carlsbad and Fort Sumner reclamation projects on the Pecos River and the nearby Tucumcari project provide adequate water for limited irrigation in those areas. Located upstream of Las Cruces , the Elephant Butte Dam And Reservoir provides a major irrigation source for the extensive farming along the Rio Grande . Other irrigation projects use the Colorado River basin and the San Juan River . Lumber mills in Albuquerque process pinewood, the chief commercial wood of the rich timber economy of northern New Mexico. New Mexicans derive much of their income from mineral extraction. Even before European exploration, Native Americans mined turquoise for making jewelry, and later silver {Link without Title} . New Mexico produces uranium ore, manganese ore, potash, salt, perlite, copper ore, beryllium, and tin concentrates. Natural gas, petroleum, and coal are also found in smaller quantities. Industrial outputs, centered around Albuquerque, include electric equipment; petroleum and coal products; food processing; printing and publishing; and stone, glass, and clay products. Defense-related industries include ordnance. Important high-technology industries include lasers, data processing, and solar energy. Federal government spending is a major driver of the New Mexico economy and provides more than a quarter of the state's jobs. Many of the federal jobs relate to the military; the state hosts three air force bases ( Kirtland Air Force Base , Holloman Air Force Base , and Cannon Air Force Base ); a testing range ( White Sands Missile Range ); an army proving ground and maneuver range (Fort Bliss Military Reservation - McGregor Range);national observatories; and the technology labs of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). SNL conducts electronic and industrial research next to Kirtland AFB, on the southeast side of Albuquerque. These installations also include the missile and spacecraft proving grounds at White Sands . In addition to the military employers, other federal agencies such as the National Park Service , the United States Forest Service , and the United States Bureau Of Land Management are a big part of the states rural employment base. Virgin Galactic , the first company to develop commercial flights into space, has decided to put its world headquarters and mission control is southern New Mexico (25 miles or 40 km south of Truth Or Consequences ). Tourism provides many service jobs. For top attractions see: Tourism . The private service economy in urban New Mexico has boomed in recent decades. Since the end of World War II , Albuquerque has gained an ever-growing number of retirees, especially among armed forces veterans and government workers. The city is also increasingly gaining notoriety as a health conscious community, and contains many hospitals and a high per capita number of massage and alternative therapists. The warm, semiarid climate has contributed to the exploding population of Albuquerque, attracting new industries to New Mexico. By contrast, many heavily Native American and Hispanic rural communities remain economically underdeveloped. The personal Income Tax rates for New Mexico range from 1.7 percent to 5.3 percent, within 4 income brackets. New Mexico does not have a Sales Tax . Instead, it has a 5 percent gross receipts tax. In almost every case, the business passes along the tax to the consumer, so that the gross receipts tax resembles a sales tax. The combined gross receipts tax rate varies throughout the state from 5.125 percent to 7.8125 percent. The total rate is a combination of all rates imposed by the state, counties and municipalities. Beginning Jan. 1, 2005, New Mexicans no longer pay taxes on most food purchases; however, there are exceptions to this program. Also beginning Jan. 1, 2005, the state eliminated the tax on certain medical services. In general, taxes are not assessed on Personal Property . Personal household effects, licensed vehicles, registered aircraft, certain personal property warehoused in the state and business personal property that is not depreciated for federal income tax purposes are exempt from the Property Tax . Property tax rates vary substantially and depend on the type of property and its location. The state does not assess tax on intangible personal property. There is no Inheritance Tax , but an inheritance may be reflected in a taxpayer's modified gross income and taxed that way. Largest employers (Not ranked by size)
:: Source: Economic Research & Analysis Bureau New Mexico Department of Labor {Link without Title} Transportation Roadways See Also: List of New Mexico highways Law and government The Constitution of 1912 , as amended, dictates the form of government in the state. Governor Bill Richardson and Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish , both Democrats, will face re-election in 2006. Governors serve a term of four years and may seek reelection. For a list of past governors, see List Of New Mexico Governors . Other Constitutional officers, all of whose terms also expire in January 2007, include Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron , Attorney General Patricia A. Madrid , State Auditor Domingo Martinez, State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons, and State Treasurer Douglas Brown . Vigil-Giron, Madrid and Martinez are Democrats. Lyons is a Republican and Brown is a Republican serving as interim State Treasurer following the indictment and resignation of his predecessor, Democrat Robert Vigil . A state House of Representatives with 70 members and a state Senate with 42 members comprise the state legislature. The Democratic Party generally dominates state politics, and As Of 2004 50% of voters were registered Democrats, 33% were registered Republicans, and 17% did not affiliate with either of the two major parties. New Mexico sends Democrat Jeff Bingaman to the United States Senate until January 2007 and Republican Pete V. Domenici until January 2009. Republicans Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson and Democrat Tom Udall represent the state in the United States House Of Representatives . Politics In national politics, New Mexico has given its electoral votes to all but two Presidential election winners since statehood. In these exceptions, New Mexicans supported Republican President Gerald Ford over Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter in 1976 , and Democratic Vice President Al Gore over Texas Governor George W. Bush (by just 366 popular votes) in 2000 . No presidential candidate has won an absolute majority in New Mexico since George H. W. Bush in 1988 , and no Democrat has done so since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 . In the last four elections, New Mexico supported Democrats in 1992, 1996, and 2000. New Mexico was one of only two states to support Al Gore in 2000 and George Bush in 2004 (the other state was Iowa ). In 2004, George W. Bush narrowly won the state's electoral votes by a margin of 0.8 percentage points with 49.8% of the vote. Democrat John Kerry won in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, two northwestern Indian counties, and by large margins in the six predominantly Hispano/Spanish counties of Northern New Mexico (Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Taos, Mora, San Miguel, and Guadalupe). Major political parties in New Mexico include the Democratic and Republican Parties; minor qualified parties include the Green Party of New Mexico , the Constitution Party , and Libertarian Party . Important cities and towns New Mexico's largest cities are Albuquerque , Las Cruces , Santa Fe , Rio Rancho , and Roswell . Education Colleges and universities Miscellaneous topics State symbols
Culture s and a blanched white Cow 's Skull hang in a market near Santa Fe .]] With a Native American population of 134,000 in 1990, New Mexico still ranks as an important center of American Indian culture. Both the Navajo and Apache share Athabaskan origin. The Apache and some Ute live on federal reservations within the state. With 16 million acres (65,000 km&2), mostly in neighboring Arizona , the reservation of the Navajo Nation ranks as the largest in the United States. The prehistorically agricultural Pueblo Indians live in pueblos scattered throughout the state, many older than any European settlement. More than one-third of New Mexicans claim Hispanic origin, the vast majority of whom descend from the original Spanish colonists in the northern portion of the state. Most of the considerably fewer recent Mexican immigrants reside in the southern part of the state. At least one-third of New Mexicans are also fluent in a unique dialect of Spanish. New Mexican Spanish is rife with vocabulary often unknown to other Spanish speakers. Because of the historical isolation of New Mexico from other speakers of the Spanish language, the local dialect preserves some late medieval Castillian vocabulary considered archaic elsewhere, adopts numerous Native American words for local features, and contains much Anglicized vocabulary for American concepts and modern inventions. The presence of various indigenous 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. There are natural history and atomic museums in Albuquerque, which also hosts the famed Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta . A large artistic community thrives in Santa Fe . The capital city has museums of Spanish colonial, international folk, Navajo ceremonial, modern Native American, and other modern art. Another museum honors resident Georgia O'Keeffe . Colonies for artists and writers thrive, and the small city teems with art galleries. Performing arts include the renowned Santa Fe summer opera, and the restored Lensic Theater . Writer D.H. Lawrence resided in Taos . The weekend after Labor Day boasts the burning of Zozobra, a sixty-foot marionette, and Fiesta de Santa Fe. Tourism New Mexico's top tourist attractions:
The state also has a number of casinos located on Native American Indian Reservations that attract thousands of visitors each year. Further reading
References
See also External links
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