New Mexico

Köppen climate types of New Mexico

New Mexico's climate is generally semiarid to arid, though areas of continental and alpine climates exist, and its territory is mostly covered by mountains, high plains, and desert. The Great Plains (High Plains) are in eastern New Mexico, similar to the Colorado high plains in eastern Colorado. The two states share similar terrain, with both having plains, mountains, basins, mesas, and desert lands. New Mexico's statewide average precipitation is 12.9 inches (330 mm) a year, with average monthly amounts peaking in the summer, as at Albuquerque, and Las Cruces in the south. The average annual temperatures can range from 65 °F (18 °C) in the southeast to below 40 °F (4 °C) in the northern mountains.[20] During the summer, daytime temperatures can often exceed 100 °F (38 °C) at elevations below 5,000 feet (1,500 m), the average high temperature in July ranges from 99 °F (37 °C) at the lower elevations down to 78 °F (26 °C) at the higher elevations. In the colder months of November to March, many cities in New Mexico can have nighttime temperature lows in the teens above zero, or lower. The highest temperature recorded in New Mexico was 122 °F (50 °C) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Loving on June 27, 1994, and the lowest recorded temperature is −50 °F (−46 °C) at Gavilan (near Lindrith) on February 1, 1951.[26]

Astronomical observatories in New Mexico take advantage of unusually clear skies, including the Apache Point Observatory, the Very Large Array, the Magdalena Ridge Observatory, and others.[27][28]

Greater roadrunner (the state bird of New Mexico)

New Mexico has five unique floristic zones, providing diverse sets of habitats for many plants and animals. The Llano Estacado (or Shortgrass Prairie) in the eastern part of the state is characterized by sod-forming short grasses such as blue grama, and it used to sustain bison. The Chihuahuan Desert extends through the south of the state and is characterized by shrubby creosote. The Colorado Plateau in the northwest corner of New Mexico is high desert with cold winters, and is characterized by sagebrush, shadescale, greasewood, and other plants adapted to the saline and seleniferous soil. The mountainous Mogollon Plateau in the west-central of the state and southern Rocky Mountains in the north-central, have a wide range in elevation (4,000 to 13,000 ft or 1,200 to 4,000 m), with vegetation types corresponding to elevation gradients, such as piñon-juniper woodlands near the base, through evergreen conifers, spruce-fir and aspen forests, Krummholz, and alpine tundra. The Apachian zone tucked into the southwestern bootheel of the state has high-calcium soil, oak woodlands, and Arizona cypress, and other plants that are not found in other parts of the state.[29][30]

Some of the native wildlife includes black bears, bighorn sheep, bobcats, cougars, coyotes, deer, elk, jackrabbits, kangaroo rats, javelina, porcupines, pronghorn antelope, roadrunners, western diamondbacks, wild turkeys,[31][32][33] and the endangered Mexican gray wolf and Rio Grande silvery minnow.[34]

In January 2016, New Mexico sued the United States Environmental Protection Agency over negligence after the 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill. The spill had caused heavy metals such as cadmium and lead and toxins such as arsenic to flow into the Animas River, polluting water basins of several states[35]

The first known inhabitants of New Mexico were members of the Clovis culture of Paleo-Indians.[36]^:19 Later inhabitants include American Indians of the Mogollon and Ancestral Pueblo peoples cultures.[37]^:52

Statue of Popé, leader of the Pueblo Revolt. The statue, entitled Po’pay, is among two statues depicting New Mexicans at the United States Capitol National Statuary Hall Collection, the other being Dennis Chávez.

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado assembled an enormous expedition at Compostela in 1540–1542 to explore and find the mythical Seven Golden Cities of Cibola as described by Fray Marcos de Niza.[37]^:19–24 The name New Mexico was first used by a seeker of gold mines named Francisco de Ibarra, who explored far to the north of New Spain in 1563 and reported his findings as being in "a New Mexico".[38] Juan de Oñate officially established the name when he was appointed the first governor of the new Province of New Mexico in 1598.[37]^:36–37 The same year, he founded the San Juan de los Caballeros (modern Española, New Mexico) capital at San Gabriel de Yungue-Ouinge (near modern Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico), the first permanent European settlement in New Mexico,[39] on the Rio Grande near Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo.[37]^:37 Oñate extended El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Royal Road of the Interior, by 700 miles (1,100 km) from Santa Bárbara, Chihuahua, to his remote colony.[40]^:49

The settlement of La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís was established as a more permanent capital at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in 1610.[40]^:182 As a result of the Pueblo Revolt, the only successful revolt against European expansion by Native Americans, these early cities were occupied by the Puebloan peoples until the Spanish returned with an offer of better cultural and religious liberties for the Pueblos.[41][42][36] After the death of the Pueblo leader Popé, Diego de Vargas restored the area to Spanish rule.[37]^:68–75 While developing Santa Fe as a trade center, the returning settlers founded Albuquerque in 1706 from existing surrounding communities,[37]^:84 naming it for the viceroy of New Spain, Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 10th Duke of Alburquerque.[43]

Territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México when it belonged to Mexico in 1824

As a part of New Spain, the claims for the province of New Mexico passed to independent Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence.[37]^:109 The Republic of Texas claimed the portion east of the Rio Grande when it seceded from Mexico in 1836 when it incorrectly assumed the older Hispanic settlements of the upper Rio Grande were the same as the newly established Mexican settlements of Texas. Texas's only attempt to establish a presence or control in the claimed territory was the failed Texan Santa Fe Expedition. Their entire army was captured and jailed by the Hispanic New Mexico militia.

At the turn of the 19th century, the extreme northeastern part of New Mexico, north of the Canadian River and east of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains was still claimed by France, which sold it in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. When the Louisiana Territory was admitted as a state in 1812, the U.S. reclassified it as part of the Missouri Territory. The region (along with territory that makes up present-day southeastern Colorado, the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, and southwestern Kansas) was ceded to Spain under the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819.

By 1800, the population of New Mexico had reached 25,000.[44]

Following the victory of the United States in the Mexican–American War (1846–48), under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico ceded its northern holdings including the territories of California, Texas, and New Mexico, to the United States of America.[37]^:132 The United States vowed to accept the residents' claims to their lands and to accept them as full citizens with rights of suffrage.

After Texas was admitted as a state to the Union, it continued to claim a northeastern portion of New Mexico. It was forced by the US government to drop these claims, in the Compromise of 1850, Texas ceded these claims to the United States of the area in New Mexico lying east of the Rio Grande, in exchange for $10 million from the federal government.[37]^:135

Congress established the separate New Mexico Territory in September 1850.[45] It included most of the present-day states of Arizona and New Mexico, and part of Colorado. When the boundary was fixed, a surveyor's error awarded the Permian Basin to the State of Texas. New Mexico dropped its claims to the Permian in a bid to gain statehood in 1911.

In 1853, the United States acquired the mostly desert southwestern bootheel of the state and southern Arizona south of the Gila River in the Gadsden Purchase. It wanted to control lands needed for the right-of-way to encourage construction of a transcontinental railroad.[37]^:136

Civil war effects in New Mexico

New Mexico territory including Arizona, 1860

Territories divided, 1867

New Mexico played a role in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. Both Confederate and Union governments claimed ownership and territorial rights over New Mexico Territory. In 1861, the Confederacy claimed the southern tract as its own Arizona Territory and waged the ambitious New Mexico Campaign in an attempt to control the American Southwest and open up access to Union California. Confederate power in the New Mexico Territory was effectively broken after the Battle of Glorieta Pass in 1862. However, the Confederate territorial government continued to operate out of Texas, and Confederate troops marched under the Arizona flag until the end of the war. Additionally, more than 8,000 men from New Mexico Territory served in the Union Army.[46]

In the late 19th century, the majority of officially European-descended residents in New Mexico were ethnic Mexicans, many of whom had deep roots in the area from early Spanish colonial times. Politically, they still controlled most of the town and county offices through area elections, and wealthy sheepherder families commanded considerable influence. The Anglo-Americans tended to have more ties to the territorial governor and judges, who were appointed by officials out of the region. The two groups struggled for power and the future of the territory. The Anglo minority was "outnumbered, but well-organized and growing".[47] Anglo-Americans made distinctions between the wealthy Mexicans and poor, ill-educated laborers.

A Hispano boy in Chamisal, 1940.

A Homesteader and his children at the New Mexico Fair in Pie Town, New Mexico, 1940

The United States Congress admitted New Mexico as the 47th state on January 6, 1912.[37]^:166 New Mexico was eligible for statehood 60 years earlier but was kept out of the union for more than a half-century because it had a majority "alien" (i.e. Mexican-American) population.[48]

European-American settlers in the state had an uneasy relationship with the large Native American tribes, most of whose members lived on reservations at the beginning of the 20th century. Although Congress passed a law in 1924 that granted all Native Americans U.S. citizenship, as well as the right to vote in federal and state elections, New Mexico was among several states with Jim Crow laws, e.g. those who do not pay taxes cannot vote.[49]

A major oil discovery in 1928 brought wealth to the state, especially Lea County and the town of Hobbs. The town was named after James Hobbs, a homesteader there in 1907.[50] The Midwest State No. 1 well, begun in late 1927 with a standard cable-tool drilling rig, revealed the first signs of oil from the Hobbs field on June 13, 1928. Drilled to 4,330 feet and completed a few months later, the well-produced 700 barrels of oil per day on state land. The Midwest Refining Company's Hobbs well-produced oil until 2002. The New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources called it "the most important single discovery of oil in New Mexico's history".[51]

During World War II, the first atomic bombs were designed and manufactured at Los Alamos, a site developed by the federal government specifically to support a high-intensity scientific effort to rapidly complete research and testing of this weapon. The first bomb was tested at Trinity site in the desert between Socorro and Alamogordo on what is now White Sands Missile Range.[37]^:179–180

Native Americans from New Mexico fought for the United States in both the First and Second World Wars. Veterans were disappointed to return and find their civil rights limited by state discrimination. In Arizona and New Mexico, veterans challenged state laws or practices prohibiting them from voting. In 1948, after veteran Miguel Trujillo, Sr. of Isleta Pueblo was told by the county registrar that he could not register to vote, he filed suit against the county in federal district court. A three-judge panel overturned as unconstitutional New Mexico's provisions that Indians who did not pay taxes (and could not document if they had paid taxes) could not vote.[49] Judge Phillips wrote:

Any other citizen, regardless of race, in the State of New Mexico who has not paid one cent of tax of any kind or character, if he possesses the other qualifications, may vote. An Indian, and only an Indian, in order to meet the qualifications to vote, must have paid a tax. How you can escape the conclusion that makes a requirement with respect to an Indian as a qualification to exercise the elective franchise and does not make that requirement with respect to the member of any race is beyond me.[49]

New Mexico has received large amounts of federal government spending on major military and research institutions in the state. It is home to three Air Force bases, White Sands Missile Range, and the federal research laboratories Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. The state's population grew rapidly after World War II, growing from 531,818 in 1940 to 1,819,046 in 2000.[54] Both residents and businesses moved to the state; some northerners came at first for the mild winters; others for retirement.

On May 22, 1957, a B-36 accidentally dropped a nuclear bomb 4.5 miles from the control tower while landing at Kirtland Air Force Base (only its conventional "trigger" detonated). [55][56]

In the late 20th century, Native Americans were authorized by federal law to establish gaming casinos on their reservations under certain conditions, in states which had authorized such gaming. Such facilities have helped tribes close to population centers to generate revenues for reinvestment in economic development and welfare of their peoples.

In the 21st century, employment growth areas in New Mexico include electronic circuitry, scientific research, call centers, and Indian casinos.[57]

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of New Mexico was 2,096,829 on July 1, 2019, a 1.83% increase since the 2010 census.[53] The 2000 census recorded the population of New Mexico to be 1,819,046; ten years later it was 2,059,179—an 11.7% increase.[58]

Of the people residing in New Mexico 51.4% were born there; 37.9% were born in another state; 1.1% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or abroad to American parent(s); and 9.7% were foreign born.[59]

As of May 1, 2010, 7.5% of New Mexico's population was reported as under 5 years of age, 25% under 18, and 13% were 65 or older.[60]

As of 2000, 8% of the residents of the state were foreign-born.[60]

Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanic ancestry, at 47% (as of July 1, 2012). This classification covers people of very different cultures and histories, including descendants of Spanish colonists with deep roots in the region, and recent immigrants from a variety of nations in Latin America, each with their own cultures.

According to the United States Census Bureau Model-based Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, the number of persons in poverty has increased to 400,779 (19.8% of the population) persons in 2010 from 2000. At that time, the estimated number of persons in poverty was recorded at 309,193 (17.3% of the population). The latest available data for 2014 estimate the number of persons in poverty at 420,388 (20.6% of the population).[58]

Note: Births in table do not add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

• Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

New Mexico is a majority-minority state.[68]

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 48% of the total 2015 population was Hispanic or Latino of any race, the highest of any state. The majority of Hispanics in New Mexico claim to be descendants of Spanish colonists who settled here during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. They speak New Mexican Spanish or English at home.[60]

The state also has a large Native American population, second in percentage behind that of Alaska.[60][69] The 2018 racial composition of the population was estimated to be:[70]

• 82.0% White American
• 10.9% Native American and Alaska Native
• 2.6% Black or African American
• 1.8% Asian
• 0.2% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander
• 2.6% Two or more races

According to the United States Census Bureau, 1.5% of the population identifies as multiracial/mixed-race, a population larger than both the Asian and NHPI population groups.[60] In 2008, New Mexico had the highest percentage (47%) of Hispanics (of any race) of any state,[60] with 83% native-born and 17% foreign-born.[74]

According to the 2000 United States Census,[75]^:6 the most commonly claimed ancestry groups in New Mexico were:

• Mexican (16.3%)
• Native American (10.3%)
• German (9.8%)
• Spanish (9.3%)
• English (7.2%)

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 28.45% of the population age 5 and older speak Spanish at home, while 3.50% speak Navajo.[76] Some speakers of New Mexican Spanish are descendants of Spanish settlers who arrived in New Mexico in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.[77] While it is a common folk belief that New Mexican Spanish is an archaic form of 17th-century Castilian Spanish, and archaisms do exist, research reveals that traditional New Mexican Spanish "is neither more Iberian nor more archaic than other New World Spanishes".[78][79]

Besides Navajo, which is also spoken in Arizona, a few other Native American languages are spoken by smaller groups in New Mexico, most of which are only spoken in the state. Native New Mexican languages include Mescalero Apache, Jicarilla Apache, Tewa, Southern Tiwa, Northern Tiwa, Towa, Keres (Eastern and Western), and Zuni. Mescalero and Jicarilla Apache are closely related Southern Athabaskan languages, and both are also related to Navajo. Tewa, the Tiwa languages, and Towa belong to the Kiowa-Tanoan language family, and thus all descend from a common ancestor. Keres and Zuni are language isolates, and have no relatives outside of New Mexico.

The original state constitution of 1912 provided for a bilingual government with laws being published in both English and Spanish;[80] this requirement was renewed twice, in 1931 and 1943.[81] Nonetheless, the constitution does not declare any language as "official".[82] While Spanish was permitted in the legislature until 1935, all state officials are required to have a good knowledge of English. Cobarrubias and Fishman therefore argue that New Mexico cannot be considered a bilingual state as not all laws are published in both languages.[81] Others, such as Juan Perea, claim that the state was officially bilingual until 1953.[83]

With regard to the judiciary, witnesses have the right to testify in either of the two languages, and monolingual speakers of Spanish have the same right to be considered for jury duty as do speakers of English.[82][84] In public education, the state has the constitutional obligation to provide bilingual education and Spanish-speaking instructors in school districts where the majority of students are Hispanophone.[82]

In 1995, the state adopted an official bilingual song, "New Mexico – Mi Lindo Nuevo México".[85]^:75,81 In 1989, New Mexico became the first state to officially adopt the English Plus resolution,[86] and in 2008, the first to officially adopt a Navajo textbook for use in public schools.[87]

San Miguel Chapel, built in 1610 in Santa Fe, is the oldest church structure in the U.S.

According to Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), the largest denominations in 2010 were the Catholic Church with 684,941; the Southern Baptist Convention with 113,452; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 67,637, and the United Methodist Church with 36,424 adherents.[89] According to a 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center, the most common self-reported religious affiliation of New Mexico residents are mentioned in reference.

Within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, New Mexico belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Santa Fe. New Mexico has three dioceses, one of which is an archdiocese:[90] Archdiocese of Santa Fe, Diocese of Gallup, Diocese of Las Cruces.

In 2010, New Mexico's gross domestic product was $80 billion, and an estimated $85 billion for 2013.[92] In 2007, the per capita personal income was $31,474 (ranked 43rd in the nation).[93] In 2005, the percentage of persons below the poverty level was 18.4%.[94] The New Mexico Tourism Department estimates that in Fiscal Year 2006, the travel industry in New Mexico generated expenditures of $6.5 billion.[95] As of April 2012, the state's unemployment rate was 7.2%.[96] During the late-2000s recession, New Mexico's unemployment rate peaked at 8.0% for the period June–October 2010.[97]

New Mexico is the third-largest crude oil and ninth-largest natural gas producer in the United States.[98] The Permian and San Juan Basins, which are located partly in New Mexico, account for some of these natural resources. In 2000 the value of oil and gas produced was $8.2 billion,[99] and 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.[100] However, the boom in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling beginning in the mid-2010s led to a large increase in the production of crude oil from the Permian Basin and other U.S. sources; these developments allowed the United States to again become the world's largest producer of crude oil in 2018.[101][102][103][104] New Mexico's oil and gas operations contribute to the state's above-average release of the greenhouse gas methane, including from a national methane hot spot in the Four Corners area.[105][106][107][108]

An F-22 Raptor flown by the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman AFB

Federal government spending is a major driver of the New Mexico economy. In 2005, the federal government spent $2.03 on New Mexico for every dollar of tax revenue collected from the state. This rate was higher than any other state in the Union. New Mexico is currently the second most dependent tax dollar state.[109]

Many of the federal jobs relate to the military; the state hosts three air force bases (Kirtland Air Force Base, Holloman Air Force Base, and Cannon Air Force Base); a testing range (White Sands Missile Range); and an army proving ground (Fort Bliss's McGregor Range). A May 2005 estimate by New Mexico State University is that 11.65% of the state's total employment arises directly or indirectly from military spending.[110] Other federal installations include the technology labs of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.

Albuquerque Studios, built in 2007 for the rising demand of film production in the state

New Mexico provides a number of economic incentives to businesses operating in the state, including various types of tax credits and tax exemptions. Most of the incentives are based on job creation.[111]

New Mexico law allows governments to provide land, buildings, and infrastructure to businesses to promote job creation. Several municipalities have imposed an Economic Development Gross Receipts Tax (a form of Municipal Infrastructure GRT) that is used to pay for these infrastructure improvements and for marketing their areas.[112]

The state provides financial incentives for film production.[113][114] The New Mexico Film Office estimated at the end of 2007 that the incentive program had brought more than 85 film projects to the state since 2003 and had added $1.2 billion to the economy.[115]

Since 2008, personal income tax rates for New Mexico have ranged from 1.7% to 4.9%, within four income brackets.[116] As of 2007, active-duty military salaries are exempt from state income tax.[117] New Mexico is one of the largest tax havens in the US, offering numerous economic incentives and tax breaks on personal and corporate income.[118][119] It does not have inheritance tax, estate tax, or sales taxes.[116][120]

New Mexico imposes a Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) on many transactions, which may even include some governmental receipts. This resembles a sales tax but, unlike the sales taxes in many states, it applies to services as well as tangible goods. Normally, the provider or seller passes the tax on to the purchaser, however legal incidence and burden apply to the business, as an excise tax. GRT is imposed by the state and there may an additional locality component to produce a total tax rate.[121] As of July 1, 2013 the combined tax rate ranged from 5.125% to 8.6875%.[122]

Property tax is imposed on real property by the state, by counties, and by school districts. In general, personal-use personal property is not subject to property taxation. On the other hand, property tax is levied on most business-use personal property. The taxable value of property is 1/3 of the assessed value. A tax rate of about 30 mills is applied to the taxable value, resulting in an effective tax rate of about 1%. In the 2005 tax year, the average millage was about 26.47 for residential property, and 29.80 for non-residential property. Assessed values of residences cannot be increased by more than 3% per year unless the residence is remodeled or sold. Property tax deductions are available for military veterans and heads of household.[123]

New Mexico has only three Interstate Highways. In Albuquerque, I-25 and I-40 meet at a stack interchange called The Big I.

Interstate 10 travels in the southwest portion of New Mexico starting from the Arizona stateline near Lordsburg to the area in between Las Cruces and Anthony, near El Paso, Texas.

Interstate 25 is a major north–south interstate highway starting from Las Cruces to the Colorado stateline near Raton.

Interstate 40 is a major east–west interstate highway starting from the Arizona stateline west of Gallup to the Texas stateline east from Tucumcari.

New Mexico currently has 15 United States Highways. This includes US 54, US 56, US 60, US 62, US 64, US 70, US 82, US 84, US 87, US 160, US 180, US 285, US 380, US 491, and US 550.

US 66, The Mother Road, was replaced by I-40 in 1985. US 85 is currently unsigned by the NMDOT, but the AASHTO still recognize it. It runs in the same trace with I-10 and I-25. US 666, The Devils Highway, was replaced by US 491 in 2003 because the number "666" is the "Number of the Beast".

New Mexico has had a problem with drunk driving, but that has lessened. According to the Los Angeles Times, for years the state had the highest alcohol-related crash rates in the US, but ranked 25th in alcohol-related fatal crash rates, as of July 2009.[128]

New Mexico had 59,927 route miles of highway as of 2000, of which 7,037 receive federal aid.[129] In that same year there were 1,003 miles (1,614 km) of freeways, of which a thousand were the route miles of Interstate Highways 10, 25 and 40.[130] The former number has increased with the upgrading of roads near Pojoaque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces to freeways. The highway traffic fatality rate was 1.9 fatalities per million miles traveled in 2000, the 13th highest rate among U.S. states.[131] Notable bridges include the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge near Taos. As of 2001, 703 highway bridges, or one percent, were declared "structurally deficient" or "structurally obsolete".[132]

Rural and intercity public transportation by road is provided by Americanos USA, LLC, Greyhound Lines and several government operators.

The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is a commuter operation that runs along the Central Rio Grande Valley.

The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is a commuter rail system serving the metropolitan area of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It began operation on July 14, 2006.[133] The system runs from Belen to downtown Santa Fe. Larger cities in New Mexico typically have some form of public transportation by road; ABQ RIDE is the largest such system in the state.[134]

The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad

There were 2,354 route miles of railroads in the year 2000; this number increased with the opening of the Rail Runner's extension to Santa Fe.[135] In addition to local railroads and other tourist lines, the state jointly owns and operates a heritage narrow-gauge steam railroad, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railway, with the state of Colorado. Narrow gauge railroads once connected many communities in the northern part of the state, from Farmington to Santa Fe.[136]^:110 No fewer than 100 railroads of various names and lineage have operated in the jurisdiction at some point.[136]^:8 New Mexico's rail transportation system reached its height in terms of length following admission as a state; in 1914 eleven railroads operated 3124 route miles.[136]^:10

Railroad surveyors arrived in New Mexico in the 1850s.[137] The first railroads incorporated in 1869.[136]^:9 The first operational railroad, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (ATSF), entered the territory by way of the lucrative and contested Raton Pass in 1878. It eventually reached El Paso, Texas in 1881 and with the Southern Pacific Railroad created the nation's second transcontinental railroad with a junction at Deming. The Southern Pacific Railroad entered the territory from the Territory of Arizona in 1880.[136]^{:9, 18, 58–59}[137] The Denver & Rio Grande Railway, who would generally use narrow gauge equipment in New Mexico, entered the territory from Colorado and began service to Española on December 31, 1880.[136]^:95–96[137] These first railroads were built as long-distance corridors, later railroad construction also targeted resource extraction.[136]^:8–11

New Mexico is served by two class I railroads, the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad. Combined, they operate 2,200 route miles of railway in the state.[135]

Downtown Santa Fe train station

A commuter rail operation, the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, connects the state's capital, its largest city, and other communities.[138] The privately operated state owned railroad began operations in July 2006.[133] The BNSF Railway's entire line from Belen to Raton, New Mexico was sold to the state, partially for the construction of phase II of this operation, which opened in December 2008.[139] Phase II of Rail Runner extended the line northward to Santa Fe from the Sandoval County station, the northernmost station under Phase I service. The service now connects Santa Fe, Sandoval, Bernalillo, and Valencia counties. The trains connect Albuquerque's population base and central business district to downtown Santa Fe with up to eight roundtrips in a day. The section of the line running south to Belen is served less frequently.[140] Rail Runner operates scheduled service seven days per week.[141]

The railway station in Tucumcari

With the rise of rail transportation many settlements grew or were founded and the territory became a tourist destination. As early as 1878, the ATSF promoted tourism in the region with emphasis on Native American imagery.[142]^:64 Named trains often reflected the territory they traveled: Super Chief, the streamlined successor to the Chief;[142] Navajo, an early transcontinental tourist train; and Cavern, a through car operation connecting Clovis and Carlsbad (by the early 1950s as train 23–24),[136]^:49–50[143]^:51 were some of the named passenger trains of the ATSF that connoted New Mexico.

Passenger train service once connected nine of New Mexico's present ten most populous cities (the exception is Rio Rancho), while today passenger train service connects two: Albuquerque and Santa Fe.[138] With the decline of most intercity rail service in the United States in the late 1960s, New Mexico was left with minimal services. No less than six daily long-distance roundtrip trains supplemented by many branch line and local trains served New Mexico in the early 1960s. Declines in passenger revenue, but not necessarily ridership, prompted many railroads to turn over their passenger services in truncated form to Amtrak, a state owned enterprise. Amtrak, also known as the National Passenger Railroad Corporation, began operating the two extant long-distance routes in May 1971.[136][142][143] Resurrection of passenger rail service from Denver to El Paso, a route once plied in part by the ATSF's El Pasoan,[143]^:37 has been proposed over the years. As early as the 1980s, former Governor Toney Anaya proposed building a high-speed rail line connecting the two cities with New Mexico's major cities.[144] Front Range Commuter Rail is a project to connect Wyoming and New Mexico with high-speed rail.[145]

Amtrak's Southwest Chief passes through daily at stations in Gallup, Albuquerque, Lamy, Las Vegas, and Raton, offering connections to Los Angeles, Chicago and intermediate points.[146] The Southwest Chief is a fast Amtrak long-distance train, being permitted a maximum speed of 90 mph (140 km/h) in various places on the tracks of the BNSF Railway.[147] It also operates on New Mexico Rail Runner Express trackage. The Southwest Chief is the successor to the Super Chief and El Capitan.[143]^:115 The streamliner Super Chief, a favorite of early Hollywood stars, was one of the most famous named trains in the United States and one of the most esteemed for its luxury and exoticness—train cars were named for regional Native American tribes and outfitted with the artwork of many local artists—but also for its speed: as few as 39 hours 45 minutes westbound.[142]

The Sunset Limited makes stops three times a week in both directions at Lordsburg, and Deming, serving Los Angeles, New Orleans and intermediate points.[148] The Sunset Limited is the successor to the Southern Pacific Railroad's train of the same name and operates exclusively on Union Pacific trackage in New Mexico.

The Albuquerque International Sunport is the state's primary port of entry for air transportation.

Upham, near Truth or Consequences, is the location of the world's first operational and purpose-built commercial spaceport, Spaceport America.[149][150][151] Rocket launches began in April 2007.[151] It is undeveloped and has one tenant, UP Aerospace, launching small payloads.[152] Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company, plans to make this their primary operating base.[150][153]

The Constitution of New Mexico established New Mexico's governmental structure. The executive branch of government is fragmented as outlined in the state constitution. The executive is composed of the governor and other statewide elected officials including the lieutenant governor (elected on the same ticket as the governor), attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, and commissioner of public lands. The governor appoints a cabinet who lead agencies statutorily designated under their jurisdiction. The New Mexico Legislature consists of the House of Representatives and Senate. The judiciary is composed of the New Mexico Supreme Court and lower courts. There is also local government, consisting of counties, municipalities and special districts.[154]

Party registration by county (November 2018):

  Democrat >= 30%

  Democrat >= 40%

  Democrat >= 50%

  Democrat >= 60%

  Democrat >= 70%

  Republican >= 40%

  Republican >= 50%

Current Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) and Lieutenant Governor Howie Morales (D) were first elected in 2018. Terms for both the governor and lieutenant governor expire in January 2023. Governors serve a term of four years, and may seek re-election for one additional term (limit of two terms). Other constitutional officers, all of whose terms also expire in January 2023, include Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D),[155] Attorney General Hector Balderas (D),[156] State Auditor Brian Colón (D),[157] State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard (D),[158] and State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg (D).[159]

Currently, both chambers of the New Mexico State Legislature have Democratic majorities. There are 26 Democrats and 16 Republicans in the Senate, and 47 Democrats and 23 Republicans in the House of Representatives.

New Mexico's members of the United States Senate are Democrats Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján. The state's three United States House of Representatives members are Democrat Deb Haaland, Republican Yvette Herrell, and Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez representing the first, second, and third districts respectively.

New Mexico has traditionally been considered a swing state, whose population has favored both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, but it has become more of a Democratic stronghold beginning with the presidential election of 2008. The governor is Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), who succeeded Susana Martinez (R) on January 1, 2019 after she served two terms as governor from 2011 to 2019. Gary Johnson served as governor from 1995 to 2003. Johnson served as a Republican, but in 2012 and 2016, he ran for president from the Libertarian Party. In previous presidential elections, Al Gore carried the state (by 366 votes) in 2000; George W. Bush won New Mexico's five electoral votes in 2004, and the state's electoral votes were won by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008, 2012, and 2016. Since achieving statehood in 1912, New Mexico has been carried by the national popular vote victor in every presidential election of the past 104 years, except 1976, when Gerald Ford won the state by 2%, but lost the national popular vote by 2%.[161] It has also awarded its electoral votes to the candidate who would ultimately win, with the exception of 1976, 2000, and 2016.

Democrats in the state are usually strongest in the Santa Fe Area, various areas of the Albuquerque Metro Area (such as the southeast and central areas, including the affluent Nob Hill neighborhood and the vicinity of the University of New Mexico), Northern and West Central New Mexico, and most of the Native American reservations, particularly the Navajo Nation. Republicans have traditionally had their strongholds in the eastern and southern parts of the state, the Farmington area, Rio Rancho, and the newly developed areas in the Northwest mesa. Albuquerque's Northeast Heights have historically leaned Republican, but have become a key swing area for Democrats in recent election cycles. While registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 200,000, New Mexico voters have favored moderate to conservative candidates of both parties at the state and federal levels.

New Mexico abolished its death penalty statute, though not retroactively, effective July 1, 2009. This means individuals on New Mexico's Death Row can still be executed. On March 18, 2009, then Governor Bill Richardson signed the law abolishing the death penalty in New Mexico following the assembly and senate vote the week before, thus becoming the 15th U.S. state to abolish the penalty.[162]

On gun control, New Mexico arguably has some of the least restrictive firearms laws in the country. State law pre-empts all local gun control ordinances. New Mexico residents may purchase any firearm deemed legal under federal law. There are no waiting periods under state law for picking up a firearm after it has been purchased, and there are no restrictions on magazine capacity. Additionally, New Mexico is a "shall-issue" state for concealed carry permits.

Before December 2013, New Mexico law neither explicitly allowed nor prohibited same-sex marriage. Policy concerning the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples was determined at the county level; that is, some county clerks issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples while others did not. In December 2013, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling directing all county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, thereby making New Mexico the 17th state to recognize same-sex marriage at the statewide level.

The New Mexico Public Education Department oversees the operation of primary and secondary schools; individual school districts directly operate and staff said schools.

New Mexico is one of eight states that fund college scholarships through the state lottery.[169][170][171] The state of New Mexico requires that the lottery put 30% of its gross sales into the scholarship fund.[172] The scholarship is available to residents who graduated from a state high school, and attend a state university full-time while maintaining a 2.5 GPA or higher.[173] It covered 100% of tuition when it was first instated in 1996,[174] decreased to 90%, then dropped to 60% in 2017.[170] The value slightly increased in 2018, and new legislation was passed to outline what funds are available per type of institution.[174]

• University of New Mexico at Albuquerque
• New Mexico State University at Las Cruces
• New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology at Socorro

• Eastern New Mexico University at Portales
• New Mexico Highlands University at Las Vegas
• Western New Mexico University at Silver City

• Four campus libraries
• 
  Zimmerman Library at The University of New Mexico
• 
  Zuhl Library at New Mexico State University
• 
  Walkway outside Golden Library at Eastern New Mexico University
• 
  Donnelly Library at New Mexico Highlands University

The earliest New Mexico artists whose work survives today are the Mimbres Indians, whose black and white pottery could be mistaken for modern art, except for the fact that it was produced before 1130 CE. See Mimbres culture. Many examples of this work can be seen at the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum[176] and at the Western New Mexico University Museum.[177]

A large artistic community thrives in Santa Fe, and has included such people as Bruce Nauman, Richard Tuttle, John Connell and Steina Vasulka. The capital city has several art museums, including the New Mexico Museum of Art, Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, SITE Santa Fe and others. Colonies for artists and writers thrive, and the small city teems with art galleries. In August, the city hosts the annual Santa Fe Indian Market, which is the oldest and largest juried Native American art showcase in the world. Performing arts include the renowned Santa Fe Opera which presents five operas in repertory each July to August, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival held each summer, and the restored Lensic Theater a principal venue for many kinds of performances. Santa Fe is also home to Frogville Records, an indie record label. The weekend after Labor Day boasts the burning of Zozobra, a fifty-foot (15 m) marionette, during Fiestas de Santa Fe.

Interior of the Crosby Theater at the Santa Fe Opera, viewed from the mezzanine

Art is also a frequent theme in Albuquerque, New Mexico's largest city. The National Hispanic Cultural Center has held hundreds of performing arts events, art showcases, and other events related to Spanish culture in New Mexico and worldwide in the centerpiece Roy E Disney Center for the Performing Arts or in other venues at the 53 acre facility. New Mexico residents and visitors alike can enjoy performing art from around the world at Popejoy Hall on the campus of the University of New Mexico. Popejoy Hall hosts singers, dancers, Broadway shows, other types of acts, and Shakespeare.[178] Albuquerque also has the unique and memorable KiMo Theater built in 1927 in the Pueblo Revival Style architecture. The KiMo presents live theater and concerts as well as movies and simulcast operas.[179] In addition to other general interest theaters, Albuquerque also has the African American Performing Arts Center and Exhibit Hall which showcases achievements by people of African descent[180] and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center which highlights the cultural heritage of the First Nations people of New Mexico.[181]

Luminarias in the old mission church, Jemez State Monument

New Mexico holds strong to its Spanish heritage. Old Spanish traditions such zarzuelas and flamenco are popular in New Mexico.[182][183] Flamenco dancer and native New Mexican María Benítez founded the Maria Benítez Institute for Spanish Arts "to present programs of the highest quality of the rich artistic heritage of Spain, as expressed through music, dance, visual arts, and other art forms". There is also the Festival Flamenco Internacional de Alburquerque held each year in which native Spanish and New Mexican flamenco dancers perform at the University of New Mexico.

In the mid-20th century there was a thriving Hispano school of literature and scholarship being produced in both English and Spanish. Among the more notable authors were: Angélico Chávez, Nina Otero-Warren, Fabiola Cabeza de Baca, Aurelio Espinosa, Cleofas Jaramillo, Juan Bautista Rael, and Aurora Lucero-White Lea. As well, writer D. H. Lawrence lived near Taos in the 1920s, at the D. H. Lawrence Ranch, where there is a shrine said to contain his ashes.

New Mexico's strong Spanish, Native American, and Wild West frontier motifs have provided material for many authors in the state, including internationally recognized Rudolfo Anaya and Tony Hillerman.[184]

Silver City, in the southwestern mountains of the state, was originally a mining town, and at least one nearby mine still operates. It is perhaps better known now as the home of or exhibition center for large numbers of artists, visual and otherwise.[185] Another former mining town turned art haven is Madrid, New Mexico.[186] It was brought to national fame as the filming location for the movie Wild Hogs in 2007. The City of Las Cruces, in southern New Mexico, has a museum system affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program.[187] Las Cruces also has a variety of cultural and artistic opportunities for residents and visitors.[188]

Aside from the aforementioned Wild Hogs, other movies filmed in New Mexico include Sunshine Cleaning and Vampires.

The various seasons of the A&E/Netflix series Longmire have been filmed in several New Mexico locations, including Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Eagle Nest, and Red River.[189]

The widely acclaimed TV show Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul were both set and filmed in and around Albuquerque.[190]

The Santa Ana Star Center

No major league professional sports teams are based in New Mexico, but the Albuquerque Isotopes are a Pacific Coast League Triple-A baseball affiliate of the MLB Colorado Rockies. New Mexico is home to several baseball teams of the Pecos League: the Roswell Invaders, Ruidoso Osos, Santa Fe Fuego and the White Sands Pupfish. The Duke City Gladiators of the Indoor Football League (IFL) plays their home games at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque. New Mexico United, also based in Albuquerque, began play in the second tier of the American soccer pyramid, the USL Championship, in 2019. Another soccer team from that city, Albuquerque Sol FC, plays in the fourth-tier USL League Two.

Collegiate athletics in New Mexico involve various New Mexico Lobos and New Mexico State Aggies teams in many sports. For many years the two universities have had a rivalry often referred to as the "Rio Grande Rivalry" or the "Battle of I-25" in recognition of the campuses' both being located along that highway. NMSU also has a rivalry with the University of Texas at El Paso which is called "The Battle of I-10". The winner of the NMSU-UTEP football game receives the Silver Spade trophy.

Olympic gold medalist Tom Jager, who is an advocate of controversial high-altitude training for swimming, has conducted training camps in Albuquerque at 5,312 feet (1,619 m) and Los Alamos at 7,320 feet (2,231 m).[191]

NRA Whittington Center in Raton is the United States' largest and most comprehensive competitive shooting range and training facility.[192]

• New Mexico Government
• New Mexico State Databases: annotated list of searchable databases produced by New Mexico state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association
• Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of New Mexico: credible and objective data and research to inform economic development and public policy

• New Mexico State Guide from the Library of Congress
• Energy Profile for New Mexico: economic, environmental, and energy data
• New Mexico Science In Your Backyard, from the U.S. Geological Society
• "American Southwest" Discover Our Shared Heritage: travel itinerary from the National Park Service
• New Mexico state facts economic research service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

• Flora of the Gila National Forest in New Mexico
• Geographic data related to New Mexico at OpenStreetMap