New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the southwestern United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains. It is bordered by Texas to the east and southeast, Oklahoma to the northeast, and Mexico to the south. The state capital is Santa Fe, which is the oldest capital in the U.S.
One–third of New Mexico's land is federally owned, and the state hosts many protected wilderness areas, including three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. New Mexico has a significant US Army presence, who base their research and testing arms in the state. During the 1940s, the Manhattan Project was based in New Mexico.
New Mexico was home to Ancestral Puebloans and Mogollons, and the modern Comanche and Utes. Spanish colonists arrived in the 16th century, naming the territory Nuevo México. Following Mexican independence in 1821, it became an autonomous region of Mexico. At the conclusion of the Mexican–American War in 1848, the U.S. annexed New Mexico as part of the larger New Mexico Territory. It was admitted to the Union in 1912.
One of only six majority-minority states, it has the nation's highest percentage of Hispanic and Latino Americans and the second-highest percentage of Native Americans. New Mexico is home to part of the Navajo Nation, 19 federally recognized Pueblo communities, and three Apache tribes.
Alternative Name(s)
Spanish: Nuevo México | Navajo: Yootó Hahoodzo
Type
State
Population
2,120,220
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
New Mexican | Spanish: Neomexicano / Neomejicano
Included Locations
Owning Organization