New Mexico

(**)The second USS New Mexico, SSN-779, is scheduled to be constructed. Injured Reserve. If the diner wants both the answer is: "Christmas". Bench. (*)The official State Question refers to a waiter asking a diner's preference for either red or green Chile sauce (or salsa), made from Chile peppers, with their meal (in New Mexico chile sauce can be finer, and thicker than salsa). Starters. Lawrence resided in Taos. However, the franchise also sees great hope in rising star LeBron James, whom many have compared to basketball-great Michael Jordan.

Writer D.H. The team will have a pick in the top 14 of the NBA Draft; also, they must look for a new coach. Performing arts include the renowned Santa Fe summer opera, and the restored Lensic Theater. The 2005 offseason brings both hope and despair for the Cavs. Colonies for artists and writers thrive, and the small city teems with art galleries. The Cavs failed to make the playoffs that year, tied with the resurgent New Jersey Nets for the eighth (and final) playoff spot (the Nets owned the tiebreaker over the Cavs). Another museum honors resident Georgia O'Keeffe. After a promising start when the team seemed to be locked firmly into the Eastern Conference's 5th playoff spot, the Cavs began a downward spiral that eventually led to the firing of coach Paul Silas and general manager Jim Paxson.

The capital city has museums of Spanish colonial, international folk, Navajo ceremonial, modern Native American, and other modern art. Despite the loss of Carlos Boozer, James teamed with Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to form the core of the Cavs team. A large artistic community thrives in Santa Fe. James blossomed into a superstar, increasing his points average, shooting percentage, assists average, and rebounds average. There are natural history and atomic museums in Albuquerque, which also hosts the famed Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Hope was even greater for the 2004-2005 season. The presence of various indigenous Native American communities, the long-established Spanish and Mexican influence, and the diversity of Anglo-American settlement in the region, ranging from pioneer farmers and ranchers in the territorial period to military families in later decades, make New Mexico a particularly heterogeneous state. The 2003-2004 season offered great hope for the future, as James rose to become a dominating player, winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

The tranquil climate and startling panoramas have attracted Americans seeking health and retirement. The Cavs selected high school phenom Lebron James. Because of the historical isolation of New Mexico from other speakers of the Spanish language, the local dialect preserves some late medieval Castillian vocabulary considered archaic elsewhere, adopts numerous Native American words for local features, and contains much Anglicized vocabulary for American concepts and modern inventions. After another disappointing season in 2002-2003, the Cavs landed the number one draft pick in the NBA Lottery. New Mexican Spanish dispenses with many grammatical niceties, typically restricting verb conjugations to two. Those seasons saw the Cavs drop to the bottom of the league, becomming a perennial lottery draft team. At least one-third of New Mexicans are also fluent in a unique dialect of Spanish. However, after the Cavs' glory days came several losing seasons.

Most of the considerably fewer recent Mexican immigrants reside in the southern part of the state. The pinnacle of the Cavs' dominance came in the 1991-1992 season, when they compiled a 57-25 record and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, losing to the Chicago Bulls 4-2. More than one-third of New Mexicans claim Hispanic origin, the vast majority of whom descend from the original Spanish colonists in the northern portion of the state. These players formed the core of the team that led the Cavs to eight playoff seasons in the next nine years, including three 50-wins plus seasons. The prehistorically agricultural Pueblo Indians live in pueblos scattered throughout the state, many older than any European settlement. In 1986, under the Gund brothers as owners, the team acquired, either through trades or the draft, Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper, and Larry Nance. With 16 million acres (65,000 km²), mostly in neighboring Arizona, the reservation of the Navajo Nation ranks as the largest in the United States. However, brothers George Gund and Gordon Gund purchased the franchise in the mid 1980s and decided to keep the team in Cleveland.

The Apache and some Ute live on federal reservations within the state. In the 1980s, new owner Ted Stepien quickly hired and fired a succession of coaches and even threatened to move the franchise to Toronto. Both the Navajo and Apache share Athabaskan origin. The Cavs won the series against the Washington Bullets, 4-3. Because of the many heroics and last-second shots, the series became known as the "Miracle of Richfield." However, hampered by injuries, the Cavs proceeded to lose to the Boston Celtics in round two of the NBA playoffs. With a Native American population of 134,000 in 1990, New Mexico still ranks as an important center of American Indian culture. He received the league's Coach of the Year award as the Cavs made their first-ever playoff appearance. New Mexico has three dioceses, one of which is an archdiocese:. In the 1975-1976 season, with Carr, Bingo Smith, Jim Chones, and Dick Snyder, Fitch led the Cavs, as the team is commonly nicknamed, to a stunning 49-33 record, which was the best record in the Central Division.

New Mexico belongs to the Ecclesiastical Province of Santa Fe. However, the team began to build around the 1971 draft pick, Austin Carr. states. Under the direction of coach Bill Fitch, they compiled a league-worst 15-67 record. Like many other Western states, New Mexico has a higher than average percentage of people who claim no religion in comparison to other U.S. The Cavaliers first began play in the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team. New Mexico is overwhelmingly Christian with relatively few adherents of non-Christian religions living in the state. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a National Basketball Association team based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Females made up approximately 50.8% of the population. Lenny Wilkens (Inducted as both player and coach.). 7.2% of New Mexico's population were reported as under 5, 28% under 18, and 11.7% were 65 or older. Wayne Embry (Current team president and first African-American to serve in that role in the NBA; inducted as a contributor.). The 5 largest ancestry groups in New Mexico are Mexican (18.1%), German (9.9%), American Indian (9.5%), Spanish (9.3%), and English (7.6%). F/C - #47 Scott Williams (North Carolina). The racial makeup of the state is:. G - #2 Dajuan Wagner (Memphis).

For a list of cities and towns, in New Mexico, with a population greater than 3,000, see: Cities & towns in New Mexico. SF - #33 Luke Jackson (Oregon). According to the Census Bureau, as of 2003, the population of New Mexico was 1,874,614. The population of New Mexico has grown 23.7% from its 1990 levels. SF - #44 Jiri Welsch (Czech Republic). See also New Mexico locations by per capita income. PF - #17 Anderson Varejao (Brazil). By contrast, many heavily Native American and Hispanic rural communities remain economically underdeveloped. SG - #3 Sasha Pavlovič (Montenegro).

The warm, semiarid climate has contributed to the exploding population of Albuquerque, attracting new industries to New Mexico. F/C - #32 Robert Traylor (Michigan). Albuquerque also hosts a famed hot-air balloon festival. SG - #12 Lucious Harris (Long Beach State). Attractions include the Cibola National Forest near Albuquerque, the natural-history and atomic museums in the city, and the rich, unique history of the region. C - #52 DeSagana Diop (Senegal). Tourism also provides many service jobs. Mary's HS, Akron, Ohio).

Noted as a health resort, Albuquerque contains many hospitals. Vincent-St. The private service economy in urban New Mexico has boomed in recent decades. SF - #23 LeBron James (St. Albuquerque also hosts a famed hot-air balloon festival. PF - #90 Drew Gooden (Kansas). Attractions include the Cibola National Forest near Albuquerque, the natural-history and atomic museums in the city, and the rich, unique history of the region. C - #11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Lithuania).

Tourism provides many service jobs. SG - #14 Ira Newble (Miami, OH). These installations include the missile and spacecraft proving grounds at White Sands. PG - #0 Jeff McInnis (North Carolina). Sandia National Laboratories conducts electronic and industrial research at Kirtland Air Force Base south of Albuquerque. 43 Brad Daugherty. Many of the federal jobs relate to the military; the state hosts several air force bases, national observatories, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. 42 Nate Thurmond.

Federal government spending drives the New Mexico economy and provides more than a quarter of the state's jobs. 34 Austin Carr. Important high-technology industries include lasers, data processing, and solar energy. 25 Mark Price. Defense-related industries include ordnance. 22 Larry Nance. Industrial outputs, centered around Albuquerque, include electric equipment; petroleum and coal products; food processing; printing and publishing; and stone, glass, and clay products. 7 Bingo Smith.

Natural gas, petroleum, and coal are also found in smaller quantities. Hot Rod Williams. New Mexico produces uranium ore, manganese ore, potash, salt, perlite, copper ore, beryllium, and tin concentrates. Campy Russell. Even before European exploration, Native Americans used silver and turquoise in making jewelry. Shawn Kemp. New Mexicans derive much of their income from mineral extraction. Free.

Lumber mills in Albuquerque process pinewood, the chief commercial wood of the rich timber economy of northern New Mexico. World B. Other irrigation projects use the Colorado River basin and the San Juan River. Jim Chones. The Carlsbad and Fort Sumner reclamation projects on the Pecos River and the nearby Tucumcari project provide adequate water for limited irrigation in those areas. Located upstream of Las Cruces, the Elephant Butte Dam and Reservoir provides a major irrigation source for the extensive farming along the Rio Grande. Terrell Brandon. In the desert and semiarid portions of the state, the scant rainfall evaporates rapidly, generally leaving insufficient water supplies for large-scale irrigation. Carlos Boozer.

New Mexico specialty crops include piñon nuts, pinto beans, and chiles. Lenny Wilkens (Inducted as both player and coach.). Hay and sorghum top the list of major dryland crops. Farmers also produce onions, potatoes, and dairy products. Nate Thurmond. Major crops include hay, nursery stock, pecans, and chiles. Limited but scientifically controlled dryland farming prospers alongside cattle ranching.

Cattle, sheep, and other livestock graze most of the arable land of the state throughout the year. Cattle and dairy products top the list of major animal products of New Mexico. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (http://www.bea.gov/) estimates that New Mexico's total state product in 2003 was $57 billion. Per capital personal income in 2003 was $24,995, 48^th in the nation.
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The Gila Wilderness lies in the southwest of the state. Other areas of geographical and scenic interest include Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Tourists visiting these sites bring significant monies to the state. Visitors also frequent the surviving native pueblos of New Mexico.

The rich history of New Mexico also attracts visitors to such places as Fort Union, Gila Cliff Dwellings, and Salinas Pueblo Missions national monuments and Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Thousands of tourists annually visit the White Sands National Monument, Bandelier, Capulin Volcano National Monument, El Morro. The natural attractions of New Mexico include Carlsbad Caverns National Park and the Aztec Ruins National Monument. The Federal government protects millions of acres of beautiful New Mexico as national forests and monuments.

Cacti, yuccas, creosote bush, sagebrush, and desert grasses cover the broad, semiarid plains that cover the southern portion of the state. Despite New Mexico's arid image, heavily forested mountain wildernesses cover a significant portion of the state. Part of the Rocky Mountains, the broken, north-south oriented Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) range flanks both sides of the Rio Grande from the rugged, pastoral north through the center of the state. Government lands include the Cibola National Forest, headquartered in Albuquerque and the Santa Fe National Forest, headquartered in Santa Fe. The landscape ranges from wide, rose-colored deserts to broken mesas to high, snow-capped peaks. The states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in the northwestern corner of New Mexico.

The 37 °N parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado. Texas also lies south of most of New Mexico, although the southwestern boot-heel borders the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora. The western border with Arizona runs along 109 °W. The eastern border of New Mexico lies along 103 °W with Oklahoma, and 3 miles (5 km) west of 103 °W with Texas. See: List of New Mexico counties.

Republicans Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson and Democrat Tom Udall represent the Land of Enchantment in the United States House of Representatives. Domenici until January 2009. New Mexico sends Democrat Jeff Bingaman to the United States Senate until January 2007 and Republican Pete V. Johnson in 1964.

Bush in 1988, and no Democrat has done so since Lyndon B. W. No presidential candidate has won an absolute majority here since George H. Bush (by just 366 popular votes) in 2000.

In these exceptions, New Mexicans supported Republican President Gerald Ford over Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Democratic Vice President Al Gore over Texas Governor George W. In national politics, however, New Mexico occupies the dead center, giving its 5 electoral votes to all but two Presidential election winners since statehood. The Democratic Party generally dominates state politics, and as of 2004 50% of voters were registered Democrats, 33% were registered Republicans, and 17% did not affiliate with either of the two major parties. A state house of representatives with 70 members and a state senate with 42 members comprise the state legislature.

All three are Democrats. Vigil. Madrid, and State Treasurer Robert E. Other Constitutional officers, all of whose terms also expire in January 2007, include Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, Attorney General Patricia A.

For a list of past governors of the State of New Mexico, see List of New Mexico Governors. Governors serve a term of four years and may seek reelection. Governor Bill Richardson and Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, both Democrats, will face re-election in 2006. The Constitution of 1912, as amended, dictates the form of government in the State.

The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe. The controversial Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, deep in salt formations near Carlsbad readied for storage of nuclear wastes during the 1990s. The Sandia National Laboratories, founded in 1949, carried out nuclear research and special weapons development at Kirtland Air Force Base south of Albuquerque. The state quickly emerged as a leader in nuclear, solar, and geothermal energy research and development.

High-altitude experiments near Roswell in 1947 reputedly led to persistent claims that the government captured and concealed extraterrestrial corpses and equipment. Albuquerque expanded rapidly after the war. Top-secret personnel there developed the atomic bomb, first detonated at Trinity site in the desert on the White Sands Proving Grounds vaguely near Alamogordo on July 16, 1945. The United States government built the Los Alamos Research Center in 1943 amid the Second World War.

The admission of the neighboring State of Arizona on February 14, 1912 completed the contiguous 48 states. Congress admitted New Mexico as the 47th state in the Union on January 6, 1912. Albuquerque, on the upper Rio Grande, incorporated in 1889. Confict with the Apache and the Navajo plagued the territory until Apache chief Geronimo finally surrendered in 1886.

Despite destructive overgrazing, ranching survived as a mainstay of the New Mexican economy. Conflicting land claims led to bitter quarrels among the original Spanish inhabitants, cattle ranchers, and newer homesteaders. The cattle kindgom could not keep out sheepherders, and eventually homesteaders and squatters overwhelmed the cattlemen by fencing in and plowing under the "sea of grass" on which the cattle fed. Outlaws included Billy the Kid.

Cattlemen feuded between each other and with authorities, most notably in the Lincoln County War. The railway encouraged the great cattle boom of the 1880s and the development of accompanying cow towns. The new town of Albuquerque, platted in 1880 as the Santa Fe Railroad extended westward, quickly enveloped the old town. The Santa Fe Railroad reached Lamy, New Mexico, 16 miles (26 km) from Santa Fe in 1879 and Santa Fe itself in 1880, replacing the storied Santa Fe Trail.

The Roman Catholic Church established an archbishopric center in Santa Fe in 1875. Union troops withdrew after the conclusion of the war. The Arizona Territory split as a separate entity in 1863. Kit Carson helped to organize and command the 1st New Mexican Volunteers to engage in campaigns against the Apache, Navajo, and Comanche in New Mexico and Texas.

Union troops captured the territory in early 1862. During the American Civil War, Confederate troops from Texas first occupied New Mexico. With this purchase, the United States established its sovereignty over all of the present state of New Mexico. The United States acquired the southwestern "boot heel" of the state and much of southern Arizona in the Gadsden Purchase of 1853.

Indian agent with a headquarters at Taos, and fought the Indians with notable success. Carson accepted an 1853 appointment as U.S. Native American plundering led Kit Carson to abandon his intent to retire to a sheep ranch near Taos. Regardless of its status, slavery never took a significant hold.

Some (including Stephen Douglas) maintained that the territory could not restrict slavery, as under the earlier Missouri Compromise, while others (including Abraham Lincoln) insisted that older Mexican legal traditions, which forbade slavery, took precedence. The people of New Mexico would determine whether to permit slavery under a constitution at statehood, but the status of slavery during the territorial period provoked considerable debate. The territory, which included Arizona and parts of Colorado, officially established its capital at Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1851. Texas transferred eastern New Mexico to the federal government, settling a lengthy boundary dispute. Under the compromise, the American government established the New Mexico Territory on September 9, 1850.

The Compromise of 1850 halted a bid for statehood under an antislavery constitution. The change of national authority allowed Anglo-American culture to come to New Mexico. This new territory included most of the western half of present-day New Mexico. Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, Mexico ceded much of the American Southwest to the United States of America.

On meeting Kit Carson, General Kearney commanded Carson to guide his men to California. Kearny entered Santa Fe without opposition in 1846 during the Mexican-American War, and his forces occupied the city, making New Mexico a United States territory. American General Stephen W. The United States of America annexed Texas as a state in 1845; the status of the territory of modern-day New Mexico was finalized with the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the conclusion of the Texas War.

New Mexico authorities captured a group of Texans who embarked an expedition to assert their claim to the province in 1841. The breakaway Republic of Texas claimed the territory north and east of the Rio Grande when it seceded from Mexico in 1836. He joined a caravan for Santa Fe, and made Taos, his home and headquarters as he made a living as a teamster, cook, guide, and hunter for exploring parties until 1840. American frontiersman Kit (Christopher) Carson, apprenticed to a saddler in the Santa Fe Trail outfitting point of Old Franklin, ran away from his job in 1826.

The Santa Fe National Historic Trail follows the route of the old trail, with many sites marked or restored. The dry southern Cimmaron route offered poor short grass and little wildlife. The rugged Mountain Division passed over Raton Pass and rejoined the more direct Cimarron Division near Fort Union, New Mexico. The Trail divided into Mountain and Cimarron Divisions southwest of Dodge City, Kansas.

Wagon caravans thereafter made the 40- to 60-day annual trek along the 780 mile (1,260 km) Santa Fe Trail, usually leaving in early summer and returning after a 4 to 5 week stay in New Mexico. Becknell left Independence, Missouri, for Santa Fe early in 1822 with the first party of traders. Small trapping parties from the United States had previously reached Santa Fe, but the Spanish rulers forbade them to trade. Trader William Becknell returned to the United States in November 1821 with news that independent Mexico welcomed trade through Santa Fe. As a part of New Spain, the remainder of the province of New Mexico passed to independent Mexico following the 1810-1821 Mexican War of Independence.

Napoleon Bonaparte of France sold the vast Louisiana Purchase, which extended into the northeastern corner of New Mexico, to the United States in 1803. The through development of ranching and some farming in the 1700s laid the foundations for the state's still-flourishing Hispanic culture. They constructed the Church of San Felipe de Nerí (1706). While developing Santa Fe as a trade center, the returning settlers founded the old town of Albuquerque in 1706, naming for the viceroy of New Spain, the duke of Alburquerque.

The Apache revolted violently in 1676, and the Pueblo uprising of 1680 drove the Spanish to abandon New Mexico entirely until the campaign of Diego de Vargas Zapata reestablished Spanish control and returned Spanish colonists in 1692. Missionaries subjugated Native Americans to forced labor on the haciendas and attempted to convert them to Christianity. Spanish settlers arrived at the site of Albuquerque in the mid-1600s. Although the colony failed to prosper, some missions flourished.

Peralta built the Palace of Governors in 1610. As the seat of government of New Mexico since its founding, Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States. In 1609, Pedro de Peralta, a later governor of the Province of New Mexico, established the settlement of Santa Fe at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The Native Americans at Acoma revolted against this Spanish encroachment but faced severe suppression.

Oñate was made the first governor of the new Province of New Mexico. Oñate pioneered the El Camino Real, "The Royal Road" as a 700 mile (1100 km) lifeline from the rest of New Spain to his remote colony. Juan de Oñate founded the San Juan colony on the Rio Grande in 1598, the first European settlement in the future state of New Mexico. His maltreatment of the Pueblo people while exploring the upper Rio Grande valley led to long-standing hostility that impeded the Spanish conquest of New Mexico.

Coronado camped near an excavated pueblo today preserved as Coronado State Monument in 1541. Dispatched from New Spain, conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led a full-scale expedition to find these cities in 1540-1542. Fray Marcos de Niza enthusiastically identified the pueblos as the fabulously rich Seven Cities of Cibola, the fabled seven cities of gold. Word of the pueblos reached Cabeza de Vaca, a Spaniard wandering across south New Mexico in 1528-1536.

The Spanish encountered Pueblo civilization in the 1500s. The Pueblo people built a flourishing sedentary culture in the 1200s, constructing small towns in the valley of the Rio Grande and pueblos nearby. Caves in the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque contain the remains of some of the earliest inhabitants of the New World. Prehistoric Native Americans used the land and minerals of New Mexico to build an early Southwestern culture millenia ago. Prehistoric Native American ruins indicate a presence at modern Santa Fe.

In European Spanish, the state's name would be spelled Nuevo Méjico. Both English and Spanish are officially recognized languages in the state. sometimes mistake it for a part of Mexico. For a variety of reasons, some people in other parts of the U.S.

As a result, the demographics and culture of the state are unique for their strong Spanish, Mexican, and Native American cultural influences. It also contains a sizeable Native American population. New Mexico holds the distinction of being the state with the highest percentage of people who claim Hispanic ancestry, many of whom are descended from Spanish colonists. Over its relatively long history it has also been occupied by Native American populations, part of the Spanish colony of New Spain, a province of the Republic of Mexico, and a US territory.

New Mexico (Spanish: Nuevo México) is one of the two southwestern states of the USA. Marc Simmons, New Mexico: An Interpretive History, 221 pages, University of New Mexico Press 1988, ISBN 0826311105 - good introduction. Kern, Labor in New Mexico: Strikes, Unions, and Social History, 1881-1981, University of New Mexico Press 1983, ISBN 0826306756. Robert W.

Paul Horgan, Great River, The Rio Grande in North American History, 1038 pages, Wesleyan University Press 1991, 4th Reprint, ISBN 819562513 - Pulitzer Prize 1955. Tony Hillerman, The Great Taos Bank Robbery and other Indian Country Affairs, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1973, trade paperback, 147 pages, (ISBN 082630530X). Maciel, editors, The Contested Homeland: A Chicano History of New Mexico, 314 pages - University of New Mexico Press 2000, ISBN 0826321992. Erlinda Gonzales-Berry, David R.

Chavez, An Illustrated History of New Mexico, 267 pages, University of New Mexico Press 2002, ISBN 0826330517. Thomas E. Diocese of Las Cruces. Diocese of Gallup.

Archdiocese of Santa Fe. 17% No Religion. 1% Non-Christian Religions. 3% Mormon.

20% Other Protestant. 3% Pentecostal. 4% Presbyterian. 10% Baptist.

37% Protestant