The Real New Mexico: 53 Facts That Make the Land of Enchantment Badder Than Ever

New Mexico, man — it ain’t just desert and tumbleweeds. This place has character. You got Albuquerque, the heart of it all, with that high desert heat, long stretches of open road, and skies that go on forever. There’s a mystery in the air here, from the shadow of the Sandia Mountains to the hidden secrets in the vast landscape. You think it’s quiet? Think again. This place has stories, history, and danger around every corner. Welcome to the Land of Enchantment — Breaking Bad style. Continuing our series discovering facts from all 50 states — like New Jersey and New Hampshire and Nevada and Nebraska — here are 53 facts about the state of New Mexico that have nothing to do with meth.

What is New Mexico known for?

1. Albuquerque! The largest city in New Mexico is not just the location of the popular television series Breaking Bad, it’s also known for its rich cultural heritage that blends the Anglo and Hispanic with Native American influence. The city offers diverse landscapes from the Rio Grande to the Sandia Mountains, and it’s also a hub for arts, history, and technology.

2. The Roswell Incident! In July 1947, a mysterious object crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, and the coverage of the incident was equally as mysterious. The United States military initially claimed that it was a flying disc but then changed course to claim that it was a weather balloon. This flip-flop sparked widespread speculation, encouraging conspiracy theories about UFOs. Nowadays, Roswell is a popular destination for UFO enthusiasts and those interested in the extraterrestrial.

3. Santa Fe! Santa Fe is the state capital as well as a major cultural center of the American Southwest, renowned for its vibrant arts scene, historic adobe architecture, and strong Native American and Hispanic influences. The town’s heritage and status as a cultural epicenter makes Santa Fe a significant and defining feature of New Mexico.

Early history of New Mexico facts

4. We think humans occupied present-day New Mexico since around 9200 BCE, where the very earliest peoples migrated from northern North America after crossing the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia.

5. Beginning with the hunter-gatherer Clovis culture, humans have inhabited New Mexico dating back to over 11,000 BCE.

6. Over the next 10,000 years or so, different cultures and peoples occupied the American Southwest that includes New Mexico, honing their hunting skills and developing gardening and farming skills as they lived in pit-house villages, learned pottery and basket-making.

7. By the 13th century or so, the Great Pueblo that inhabited Northwestern New Mexico were building multi-story pueblos, laid out road systems, and learned irrigation. They even basically invented apartments! The Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico was the largest village and it contained 700 rooms over 5 stories.

8. In 1598, the Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate was named the very first governor of the newly-named Province of New Mexico. The first permanent white settlement was quickly established on the Rio Grande River.

9. The Pueblo Revolt happened in 1680 after years of oppression from the Spanish colonizers they were forced to labor for. Drought, famine, European-introduced diseases, and vulnerability from neighboring tribes only compounded the oppression. Led by the Tewa religious leader Popé (or Po’pay) from Ohkay Owingeh, the Pueblo peoples united and attacked the Spanish colonist and were successful in keeping them out for 12 years. Fuck yeah Pueblo.

10. In 1821, Mexico gained independence from Spain, making New Mexico part of Mexican territory.

11. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was established in 1848, making New Mexico a part of United States territory.

12. In 1912, New Mexico was admitted to the United States as the 47th state in the Union.

What famous people are from New Mexico?

13. The song is considered a symbol of West Virginia, but John Denver, the co-writer and performer of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was born in Roswell, New Mexico on December 31, 1943.

14. Five-time Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris is known for his roles in the popular television series Doogie Howser, M.D. and How I Met Your Mother. Four of his Emmys came from hosting the Tony Awards. Harris was born on June 15, 1973 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and grew up in Ruidoso.

15. At one point, Demi Moore was the most bankable female actor in Hollywood, with her early 1990s run of Ghost, A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal, and Striptease. She was born November 11, 1962 in Roswell, New Mexico.

16. Ralph Kiner was a baseball player who made 6 All-Star teams and hit 369 home runs, primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Born October 27, 1922 in Santa Rita, New Mexico, he was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.

17. NFL defensive back Ronnie Lott made several All-Pro teams playing for the San Fransisco Giants and Los Angeles Raiders before ending his career with the New York Jets. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 2000, he was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

18. William Hanna was an animator and voice actor who co-founded the iconic cartoon production company Hanna-Barbera, launching such famous programs like The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, and Yogi Bear. It would be hard to overstate the impact his creations has had on our shared culture, and he was born in 1910 in Melrose, New Mexico Territory.

19. Demi Lovato was born in in Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 22, 1992 and was appearing on Barney & Friends by the time she was 10. She has gone on to sell over 24 million records as a singer and songwriter, fueled by her hit single “Sorry Not Sorry.”

20. Musician Zach Condon fronts Beirut, one of the most innovative American bands of the 21st century with its blend of indie rock-n-roll combined with world music and Eastern European, French, and Balkan influences. He was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico on February 13, 1986.

What are the state symbols of New Mexico?

21. In 1963, the American black bear was designated New Mexico’s official state animal, and it’s also the state symbol for Alabama and Louisiana and West Virginia. Fortunately, American black bears are plentiful enough in population that they are considered a “least-concern species” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

22. New Mexico elected an official Historic Railroad in 2005, paying tribute to the Cumbres & Toltec scenic railroad, which covers 64 miles of track between New Mexico and Colorado.

23. One day, the kids at Monte Vista Elementary were discussing state symbols in the classroom and began a mission to honor the cultural significance of green chilis and its relationship to New Mexico, and on March 2023, New Mexico became the very first state to have an official aroma: the smell of green chilis roasting.

24. Bolo ties are a staple of fashion in the American southwest, so it should come as no surprise that in 2007, it became the official state tie of New Mexico. It’s also the official state neckwear of Arizona.

25. The tarantula hawk is a kind of spider wasp that sting prey to paralyze them and then drag their bodies back to their nest to lay an egg on their prey where the larva eats them a-fucking-live after they hatch. You can find them pretty much all over the world except for Antarctica and Europe, and New Mexico named this lil motherfucker the official state insect in 1989.

26. Different species of cutthroat trout are pretty popular choices when it comes to deciding the official state fish. New Mexico has the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, and Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, and Montana have other species of this trout as their state symbol.

27. In 1989, New Mexico became the first state to have an official cookie, and they chose the biscochito, a cinnamon-flavored shortbread made with anise seeds that’s been around present-day New Mexico since the 16th century.

28. Many states — including Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, and North Carolina — have a type of pine tree as their state tree. New Mexico is no exception, designated the piñon pine in 1949.

29. New Mexico has an official state question! “Red or green?” is such a common question at restaurants when customers order a chile pepper dish, asked so often that New Mexico became the first state to designate a state question in 1996 to honor its cultural and economic relationship to the peppers.

30. The greater roadrunner — which can run like 15 miles-per-hour and can be found all over the American Southwest — was named the official state bird of New Mexico in 1949.

Topography & geography of New Mexico

31. New Mexico is the 5th-largest state of the nifty 50 after Alaska, Texas, California, and Montana. It’s a cool 121,590 square miles and has the lowest water-to-land ration of all the Union, with only 292 combined square miles of lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water.

32. Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico and Albuquerque is the largest city in size.

33. In addition to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, other relatively populated New Mexico cities include Las Cruces and Rio Rancho.

34. Of New Mexico’s nearly 78 million acres, almost 25 million acres (about one-third) is federally-owned by the United States government.

35. If you were to drive clear across New Mexico, it would be 371 miles from north to south and 344 miles from east to west.

36. Wheeler Peak is the highest elevation point in New Mexico, at 13,161 feet.

37. At 2,845 feet above sea level, the Red Bluff Reservoir — located on the border of Texas — is the lowest point in New Mexico.

38. With all its desert space and prairies and plains, New Mexico has a pretty hot and dry climate. The hottest day on record in New Mexico was 122 degrees Fahrenheit in 1994, but that factoid will probably be outdated sooner rather than later.

Where should I visit in New Mexico?

39. The International UFO Museum and Research Center is located in Roswell, New Mexico and it’s a must-visit destination for any extraterrestrial enthusiast interested in the mysterious 1947 Roswell Crash. Charmingly located in a former 1930s movie theater, the research center is especially impressive with a comprehensive library of material relating to unidentified flying objects.

40. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum located in Santa Fe, New Mexico is dedicated to the life and work of the profoundly influential American artist known for her iconic depictions of flowers and landscapes. It features over 3,000 pieces of her paintings, sculptures, and drawings and is a must-visit for anyone interested in modern art.

41. Of course, Georgia O’Keefe isn’t the only artist celebrated in New Mexico. The collection at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe has over 20,000 pieces that includes works from names like Ansel Adam, Maria Martinez, T.C. Cannon, Ashcan School alumni John Sloan, the Taos Society of Artists, and of course, Georgia O’Keefe.

42. Visiting the White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico is an outdoor adventure unlike anywhere else in the world. It’s 275 square miles of beautiful and vast and shimmering dunes where you can watch the light of the sunrises and sunsets dances across the white sands. It’s downright goddam surreal.

43. You can find Ethyl the Whale in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, an 82 foot-long sculpture of a big-ass blue whale created by artists Yustina Salnikova and Joel Dean Stockdill that is made of hand-recycled plastic trash bags to signify the devastation that plastic bags are bringing to our oceans.

44. The unforgettable Carlsbad Caverns in Eddy County, New Mexico has these wild-ass vast chambers filled with intricate limestone formations like stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. But the most famous is the Big Room, one of the largest cave chambers in North America — and parts of it are even wheelchair-accessible! Visitors can walk self-guided trails or take ranger-led tours to explore deeper into the caves. You do not want to miss the evening bat flight, when thousands of bats emerge from the cave at sunset for a dramatic natural spectacle you won’t forget anytime soon. There’s even a goddam amphitheater for it.

45. The borders of Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico all meet at the Four Corners Monument, and it is the only way you can be in four states at the same time. This quadripoint is an incredibly unique experience unlike any other in America, and it’s as instagrammable as it gets as a bucket list destination spot.

Fun, cool, interesting & weird New Mexico facts

46. Novelist Cormac McCarthy was not born in New Mexico, but was a trustee for the Santa Fe Institute from 2014 until his death in 2023. Many of his novels were influenced by the American Southwest and his time in New Mexico. After his passing, none other than Stephen King called him “maybe the greatest American novelist of my time.”

47. You can visit Pie Town, New Mexico! You’ll find this unincorporated community in Catron County, New Mexico and while it’s kind of a lowly-populated ghost town, they obviously have an annual pie festival.

48. The weather conditions and the gorgeous Southwest landscape make New Mexico pretty much a perfect place for hot air balloons, so it should come as no surprise that Albuquerque has been referred to as the hot air balloon capital of the world.

49. The Capitan Gap fire was a wildfire that occurred in the Capitan Mountains in New Mexico in 1950. Amidst the tragedy, the image of a young bear climbing a tree emerged into a symbol of nature’s precariousness, and Smokey the Bear was born. The real Smokey the Bear fortunately survived and lived at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. for 26 years.

50. On October 14, 2012, daredevil Felix Baumgartner broke several skydiving records when he jumped from a helium balloon from the stratosphere 24 miles in the air and falling a top speed of 843.6 miles per hour, and landed in New Mexico. This feat made Felix the first person to break the sound barrier relative to the surface without the help of a vehicle.

51. In 1911, the New Mexico State Constitution banned idiots from voting. However, this law did not do a very good job of legally defining what an idiot is, so idiots of all kinds are nonetheless are allowed to vote in New Mexico.

52. Doc Holliday was a dentist! He got his dentistry degree from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery and in 1878, moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico to set up a practice, where his side hustle of gambling and its subsequent banning carved out his gunfighting future and journey to Tombstone, Arizona. Wait, was him being a dentist is why his name was Doc?

53. Deming, New Mexico hosts The Great American Duck Race every year where, you guessed it, ducks are raced. Locals go downright quacky for this event, which has been going since the 1970s.

Image Credit: Image by Christiane Wilden from Pixabay

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