Portal:New Mexico

Culture · Geography · Health · History · Mathematics · Nature · Philosophy · Religion · Society · Technology

edit

New Mexico Portal

New Mexico is one of the 50 states in the United States, and one of the last to be admitted into the union. Admitted on January 6, 1912 it became the 47th state. Located in the southwestern region of the US, New Mexico is the 4th largest state in the continental US, but is among the least populated with a population density of only 15 per square mile. With a high percentage of Hispanic Americans and Native Americans, the demographics and culture of the state has a unique Spanish, Mexican, and American Indian influence. The climate of the state is highly arid and its territory is mostly covered by mountains and desert.

edit

Featured article

Space Shuttle Columbia lands at Northup Strip with two T-38 Talon planes following.

White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the White Sands Proving Grounds, is a rocket range in New Mexico operated by the United States Army. The range which covers an area of almost 3,200 mi² (8 287 km²), gets its name from the white sands that are spread over many miles in the area. It is located in Doña Ana and Otero counties mostly within the Tularosa Basin (a valley between the Organ Mountains, San Andres Mountains and the Sacramento Mountains) but it also includes the northern reaches of the Jornada del Muerto.

Established on 9 July 1945, the range was the site of the world's first atomic weapon test on July 16, 1945 at what is now called Trinity site. V-2 rockets captured in Germany at the end of World War II were taken to WSMR for reverse engineering by the Hermes project, and as part of Operation Paperclip.

In 1963 NASA established the White Sands Test Facility on the range. For the next three years NASA launched Little Joe II boosters from Launch Complex 36 at White Sands to conduct launch escape system tests for the Apollo program. More recently, the NASA Space Shuttle program has used a landing area there known as White Sands Space Harbor located about 45 miles north of WSMR headquarters.

State Facts

Nickname: Land of Enchantment
Capital: Santa Fe
State Officers
- Governor: Bill Richardson (D)
- Lieutenant Governor: Diane Denish (D)
- Secretary of State: Mary Herrera
- Attorney General: Gary King
- Treasurer: James Lewis
- Comptroller General:
- Secretary of Education: Veronica García
- Secretary of Agriculture: Miley Gonzalez
- Adjutant General: General Kenny Montoya

Total area: 121,665 sq.mi
- Land: 121,356 sq.mi
- Water: 234 sq.mi
Highest elevation: 13,161 ft (Wheeler Peak, Colfax County)
Population (2000 census) 1,928,384
Date admitted to the Union: January 6, 1912,

Senators: Pete Domenici (R), Jeff Bingaman (D)
Representatives: Heather Wilson (R), Steve Pearce (R), Tom Udall (D)

State symbols:

State Capital: Santa Fe State Mottos: "Crescit eundo" ("It Grows as It Goes") State Songs: "O Fair New Mexico" State Tree: Two-Needle Piñon Pine State Flower: Yucca flower State Grasses: Blue grama State Bird: Greater roadrunner State Animal: Black Bear State Reptile: New Mexico Whiptail Lizard State Amphibian: New Mexico Spadefoot Toad State Fish: Cutthroat Trout State Insect: Tarantula Hawk Wasp State Butterfly: Red Admiral State Cookie: Bizcochito State Vegetables Chilesand Frijoles (refried beans) State Rock: Turquoise State Poem: A Nuevo Mexico State Ships: USS New Mexico (BB-40)& USS New Mexico (SSN-779)State Quarter edit

Did You Know?

... that Lincoln National Forest was the birthplace of the American Black Bear cub that became the living symbol of Smokey Bear.
... that Roswell, NM was a site for much of Robert Goddard's early rocketry work.
... that Taos Pueblo has been continuously inhabited for more than 1,000 years.
... that in the New Mexico State Penitentiary riot of 1980, 33 inmates were killed.
... that the Santa Fe Indian Market (an annual art market held in Santa Fe) draws an estimated 100,000 people.

edit

Related WikiProjects

New Mexico College football Universities Arizona U.S. Roads U.S. States

edit

Associated Wikimedia

New Mexico on Commons
Images New Mexico on Wikinews
News New Mexico on Wikiquote
Quotes New Mexico on Wikisource
Texts New Mexico on Wikibooks
Books New Mexico on Wiktionary
Definitions

edit

Featured Picture

Hotel "Inn and Spa at Loretto"
near to the Plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Photo credit: User:JuliusR Past Featured Pictures • Featured Picture discussion edit

New Mexico News

August 7 – 5 people were killed in a medical plane crashed that was on route to the University of New Mexico Hospital.

edit

Things To Do

Things you can do to help improve this Portal:

Create & Expand New Mexico National Forest articles
Expand New Mexico college and university articles
Create article for Secretary of State: Mary Herrera
Create article for Comptroller General. (Find out who it is first)
Create article for Secretary of Education: Veronica García
Create article for Secretary of Agriculture: Miley Gonzalez
Create article for Adjutant General: General Kenny Montoya

edit

Selected biography

John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was an American folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician who was one of the most popular artists of the 1970s. He recorded and released some 300 songs, about half of which he had composed, and was named Poet Laureate of Colorado in 1977.