New Mexico

Area: 121,595sq.mi/314,925sq.km

Capital: Santa Fe

Popular name: Land of Enchantment

Situation and topography

The state of New Mexico in the southwestern United States is divided between three geographical regions. The western part of the state is occupied by a plateau traversed by ranges of hills and slashed by numerous canyons; in the center are the southern foothills of the Rocky Mountains (highest point Wheeler Peak, 13,161ft/4,011m), through which flows the Rio Grande; and in the east the hills fall down to the wide expanses of the Great Plains, with the Llano Estacado. The climate is extremely dry - New Mexico has an annual rainfall of only 14in./350mm, the lowest in the United States - and as a result the country ranges between steppe and desert. Typical trees in the mountain regions are spruce, fir, nut pine and juniper. Yuccas and mesquites grow in the desert regions. History

In New Mexico - known as Indian Land - impressive cliff dwellings and ruins bear witness to the cultures of the Pueblo, Apache, Navajo and Anasazi Indians. The first European to reach the area round the Rio Grande was Francisco Marcos de Niza, who came here in 1539 in the quest for gold.

The territory was colonized in the 17th century by Spaniards, who encountered fierce resistance from the local Indian tribes. In 1821 it was occupied by Mexico; then in 1846, after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, it was annexed by the United States. In 1850 (combined with Arizona until 1863) it was incorporated as a U.S. territory, and on January 6th 1912 it was admitted to the Union as the 47th state. The first atom bomb was exploded on July 16th 1945 at the Alamogordo test site.

Economy

New Mexico's agriculture is predominantly extensive pastoral farming; arable crops include vegetables, cotton, fruit, wheat and hay. The state has the largest deposits of uranium in the United States, as well as potassium salts, copper, oil and natural gas. Its principal industries are chemicals, foodstuffs, electronics and engineering. The main assets of the tourist trade are natural beauties such as the Carlsbad Caverns and the remains of early Indian cultures.