Nickname: Land of Enchantment
Area: 121 336 sq.mi. (314 258,8km2)
Highest point: Wheeler Peak 13 161 ft. ( 4 011.5 m)
Population: 1 742 700
Capital: Santa Fe
Largest city: Albuquerque

The majority of New Mexico’s territory is dominated by high chains of mountains. Its central and South-Western regions are covered with smaller and larger forests, like the Santa Fe National Forest, the Cibola National Forest, the Apache National Forest, the Gila National Forest and the Lincoln National Forest. Its North-Western territory is a semi-desert. Its Eastern area is a flatland with meadows, fields and also some semi-deserted areas. New Mexico is among the sparsely populated states of the USA. The largest cities are: Santa Fe and Los Alamos in the North, Albuquerque in the middle and Las Cruces and Roswell in the South.

Photo: Country, New Mexico, USA, flickr.com, by romanedirisinghe

The largest city of the state is Albuquerque, which is the center of transportation, education, commerce, industry and culture. The city is the home of the University of New Mexico. It’s worthy to explore the historical downtown of the city, called The Plaza, which is surrounded by several old buildings in their original splendor.  Go and visit the museums: the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, which is a scientific exhibition; the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History is a valuable artistic collection and the American International Rattlesnake Museum, which has an exhibition of all kinds of poisonous snakes. The KiMo Theatre has further interesting things to show us, they play theatrical performances here too. The Albuquerque is the home of the Rio Grande Zoological Park, which is the zoo of the city. The Rio Grande Botanic Garden is a charming place to be, and the Albuquerque Aquarium is full of various fish and other sea creatures.

Photo: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, flickr.com, by Nightwynds

The capital of New Mexico is the Northern Santa Fe, which is the cultural and administrative center of the state. The city is the oldest capital in the USA, which was founded by the Spanish in the early 17th century. One may observe the mingling of the English and Latin culture. Its magnificent old buildings amaze every visitor. It’s worth to visit the majestic building of the Saint Francis Cathedral, the Palace of the Governors, and the beautiful building of the State Capitol. Do visit the museums of the city, which are: the Museum of Indian Art and Culture, which is about the native Indians; the Museum of International Folk Art and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, which is an exhibition about the famous Americas artist.

Photo: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, flickr.com, by jsnelson

It’s worth to visit the city of Roswell in the Southern region. It was the scenery of many sci-fi films, and according to the legend, this is the place where a UFO had crashed on 4th July, 1947. The city if the home of the International UFO Museum and Research Center, where they have a collection of the photos, newspaper articles and other evidences related to the disaster.

Photo: Roswell, New Mexico, USA, flickr.com, by philcampbell

You may also go and visit the national parks and memorial places of the state:

· White Sands National Monument, which is the world’s largest gypsum desert

Photo: White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA, flickr.com, by Marc Shandro

· El Malipais National Monument, where we’ll find the fantastic Bandera Volcano and the Ice Caves

Photo: El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico, USA, flickr.com, by SamuraiCatJB

· Gila Cliff National Dwellings Monument, where we may admire cave-houses
· Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which is one of the largest limestone caves in the world. It features marvelous dripstones

Photo: Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, USA, flickr.com, by zrim

· Aztec Ruins National Monument, which is a memorial place for the Aztec Indians

The excellent ski resorts of the state are quite popular among the tourists. These are: Ski Rio, the Angel Fire Ski Resort, the Sipapu Ski Area, the Santa Fe Ski Area, the Ski Apache and the Snow Canyon Ski Area.

Photo: Angel Fire Ski Resort, New Mexico, USA, flickr.com, by NZ Russ


Photo: Taos Ski Resort, New Mexico, USA, flickr.com, by feverblue