Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, a
Spanish explorer searching for gold, traveled the
region that became New Mexico in 1540–1542. In 1598
the first Spanish settlement was established on the
Rio Grande River by Juan de Onate; in 1610 Santa Fe
was founded and made the capital of New Mexico.
The U.S. acquired most of New Mexico in 1848, as a
result of the Mexican War, and the remainder in the
1853 Gadsden Purchase. Union troops captured the
territory from the Confederates during the Civil
War. With the surrender of Geronimo in 1886, the
Apache Wars and most of the Indian conflicts in the
area were ended.
Since 1945, New Mexico has been a leader in energy
research and development with extensive experiments
conducted at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and
Sandia Laboratories in the nuclear, solar, and
geothermal areas.
Minerals are the state's richest natural resource,
and New Mexico is one of the U.S. leaders in output
of uranium and potassium salts. Petroleum, natural
gas, copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead, and
molybdenum also contribute heavily to the state's
income.
The principal manufacturing industries include food
products, chemicals, transportation equipment,
lumber, electrical machinery, and stone-clay-glass
products. More than two-thirds of New Mexico's farm
income comes from livestock products, especially
sheep. Cotton, pecans, and sorghum are the most
important field crops. Corn, peanuts, beans, onions,
chilies, and lettuce are also grown.
Tourist attractions include the Carlsbad Caverns
National Park, Inscription Rock at El Morro National
Monument, the ruins at Fort Union, Billy the Kid
mementos at Lincoln, the White Sands and Gila Cliff
Dwellings National Monuments, Bandelier National
Monument, and the Chaco Culture National Historical
Park. |
