Have a question? Ask an IPL Librarian!

(Use our Contact Us form for questions/suggestions about our site.)

New Mexico

Capital	Santa Fe
Population	1,819,046 Source: U.S. Census Bureau GCT-PH1-R. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density (geographies ranked by total population): 2000 Data Set: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data
Governor	Bill Richardson (D, to January 2011)
Entered the Union	January 6, 1912 as the 47th state
Motto	Crescit Eundo (It Grows As It Goes)
Nickname	Land of Enchantment
Flower	Yucca
Bird	Roadrunner
Song	O Fair New Mexico and Asi es Nuevo Mexico
Professional Sports Teams (sports listing policy)	No NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS, or NHL teams.
Origin of Name	From the country of Mexico
Major Industries	Energy, Nuclear, Solar and Geothermal Research and Development; Uranium and Potasium Salts; Food Products, Livestock and Pecans; Chemicals; Transportation Equipment; Lumber and Stone; Clay and Glass Products; Cotton
Historical Sites	Fort Union, Billy the Kid keepsakes at Historic Lincoln, and the Chaco Culture National Historic Park
Points of Interest	Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Inscription Rock at El Morro National Monument, and the White Sands and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monuments
Bordering States	New Mexico borders Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona.
Flag

Follow these links to read articles about New Mexico from Encyclopedias and Almanacs:

• Encarta Concise Encyclopedia
• Columbia Encyclopedia
• Information Please Almanac

• Welcome to New Mexico: the New Mexico State Government Portal
  http://www.state.nm.us/
  This is the official website for the State of New Mexico.
• New Mexico State Library
  http://www.stlib.state.nm.us/
  Here is the homepage for the New Mexico State Library.
• Historical Society of New Mexico
  http://www.hsnm.org/default.asp?CustComKey=1959
  Here is the homepage for the New Mexico State Historical Society.
• Museum of New Mexico
  http://www.museumofnewmexico.org/
  Here is the homepage for the Museum of New Mexico, which houses art, history, and culture collections in four museums and five monuments statewide.
• New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
  http://museums.state.nm.us/nmmnh/nmmnh.html
  Here is the homepage for the New Mexico State Museum.
• New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
  http://www.nmcpr.state.nm.us/archives/archives_hm.htm
  Here is the homepage for the New Mexico State Archives.
• New Mexico State Parks
  http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/nmparks/
  Here is the homepage for New Mexico State Parks.
• New Mexico.org
  http://www.newmexico.org/index2.php
  Here is the official state tourism website for New Mexico.

• 50states.com: New Mexico
  http://www.50states.com/newmexic.htm
  The site provides a wealth of information about New Mexico. It includes everything from the highest point to county profile to climate.
• Things To Do in New Mexico
  http://www.thingstodo.com/states/NM/index.htm
  ThingsToDo.com is an online guide to information about New Mexico's entertainment, recreation, and travel, and includes the state's interesting facts, famous people, and special events.
• Roadside America: New Mexico Attractions
  http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/nm.html
  Roadside America describes itself as an online guide to offbeat attractions. This site offers reviews of "weird sites along the highway" in New Mexico.
• New Mexico's Cultural Treasures
  http://www.nmculture.org/
  This site is a database of New Mexico's museums, parks, and monuments.
• New Mexico Magazine
  http://www.nmmagazine.com/
  This online magazine is published in partnership with the New Mexico Tourism Department and provides information about New Mexico's multicultural heritage, arts, climate, environment, and people.
• FedStats: MapStat: United States: New Mexico
  http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/states/35000.html
  Fast access to statistics from more than 100 federal agencies on "economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more" in New Mexico.

• New Mexico is one of the U.S. leaders in output of uranium and potassium salts.
• The movies Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, City Slickers, Wyatt Earp, and Young Guns were all filmed in New Mexico.
• In 1824, New Mexico briefly became a Mexican territory, but in 1846 U.S. Gen. William Kearny's troops followed Anglo merchants down the Santa Fe Trail to occupy New Mexico, which became an American territory.
• New Mexico's distinctive insignia (found on the state flag) is the Zia Sun Symbol which originated with the Indians of the Zia Pueblo in ancient times. Its design reflects their tribal philosophy, with its wealth of pantheistic spiritualism teaching the basic harmony of all things in the universe.

• Neil Patrick Harris, the TV actor who played Doogie Howser, M.D.
• Demi Moore, actress, was born in Roswell, New Mexico in 1962.
• John Denver, singer.
• Ralph Bunche, Nobel Peace Prize winner.
• Oliver LaFarge, Pulitzer Prize Winning author.
• William Bonney, a.k.a "Billy the Kid" is New Mexico's most infamous outlaw.