New Mexico is located in the southwestern region of the U.S.A. It was the forty-seventh state of America, joining on January 6, 1912. New Mexico is the fifth largest state in the country and the thirty-sixth most populous. The state capital is Santa Fe and the largest city is Albuquerque. New Mexico's bordering states are Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah and its bordering country is Mexico. The state's major rivers are Rio Grande and Pecos River and its major lakes are Elephant Butte Reservoir, Conchas Lake and Navajo Reservoir. New Mexico was inhabited by Native Americans for many centuries and the tribes largely represented are largely from the Navajo and Pueblo tribes. Nowadays it is home of the third largest percentage of Native American and the countries highest percentage of Hispanic residents.
New Mexico was named by the Spanish, in reference to Mexico. The state nickname, 'Land of Enchantment' adorns automobile license plates and is used frequently in state publications to promote tourism. The state bird is the Roadrunner and the state flower, the Yucca. The state flag was adopted in 1920. The flag features a yellow background with an ancient Sun symbol called a Zia. Since four is a sacred number for the Zia, there are four rays coming from each side of the stylized Sun. The colors red and yellow are used because they were the colors of the flag of the Spanish conquistadors who went to New Mexico in the early 1500's.
The first Europeans arrived in New Mexico in the 1500's when the land was inhabited by Native Americans. The state was officially given its name by Juan de Oñate when he was officially appointed governor of the land. He founded the first permanent European settlement, San Juan de los Caballeros colony in 1598.
The settlement of Santa Fe was established at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains around 1608, however the Spanish abandoned it for twelve years until it was restored to them following the death of the Pueblo leader. The extreme northeastern part of New Mexico was originally ruled by France, and sold to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
During World War II, the first atomic bombs were designed and manufactured at Los Alamos and the first was tested at Trinity site in the desert on the White Sands Proving Grounds between Socorro and Alamogordo.
The major industries in the state are oil, natural gas, tourism and the mining of potash, copper, silver and uranium. New Mexico is a leading crude oil and natural gas producer in the United States. In 2006 New Mexico accounted for 3.4% of the crude oil, 8.5% of the dry natural gas, and 10.2% of the natural gas liquids produced in the United States.
New Mexico's climate ranges from arid to semiarid, with a wide range of temperatures. In the summer, thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence. In the winter however there is much snowfall. The snow is much more frequent in the north than in the south. Nearly one-half the annual rainfall comes during July and August.
New Mexico has a population of almost 2 million Americans. The center of population of New Mexico is located in Torrance County, in the town of Manzano. The major religions practiced in the state are Roman Catholic and Protestant. There are also small minorities of Jews, Buddhist and LDS (Mormon).
The featured tourist attractions in New Mexico are El Santuario de Chimayo Shrine, International UFO Museum And Research Center and Monument to the Flying Paper Boy. The state also offers a range of outdoor recreation such as camping, canoeing, fly fishing, hiking, hunting, kayaking, skiing and whitewater rafting.
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