The New Mexico Portal New Mexico is a landlocked state in the Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also borders the state of Texas to the east and southeast, Oklahoma to the northeast, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora to the south. New Mexico's largest city is Albuquerque, and its state capital is Santa Fe, the oldest state capital in the U.S.—founded in 1610 as the government seat of Nuevo México in New Spain—and the highest in elevation, at 7,000 feet (2,134 m). New Mexico is the fifth-largest of the fifty states by area, but with just over 2.1 million residents, ranks 36th in population and 45th in population density. Its climate and geography are highly varied, ranging from forested mountains to sparse deserts; the northern and eastern regions exhibit a colder alpine climate, while the west and south are warmer and more arid. The Rio Grande and its fertile valley runs north-to-south, creating a riparian biome through the center of the state that supports a bosque habitat and distinct Albuquerque Basin climate. One-third of New Mexico's land is federally owned, including many protected wilderness areas, 15 national parks and monuments, and three UNESCO World Heritage Sites wholly contained within the state—the most of any U.S. state. New Mexico's economy is highly diversified; major sectors include mining, oil and gas, aerospace, media, and film. Its total real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 was over $105 billion, with a GDP per capita of $49,879. New Mexico often ranks low in wealth, healthcare, and education, but has some of the highest concentrations of scientists, engineers, along with other highly skilled workers, and one of the most educated (albeit very small) counties in the U.S.: Los Alamos County. New Mexico has a significant federal presence, including U.S. military installations such as White Sands Missile Range and Kirtland Air Force Base, and Department of Energy research centers such as the Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories. The state hosted several key facilities of the Manhattan Project, which developed the world's first atomic bomb, and was the site of the first nuclear test, Trinity. (Full article...)
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