STATES AND TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED

In this post we will looking at New Mexico and its territories, Its past and present governors and current House of representative’s members.

INTRODUCTION.

New Mexico (Spanish: Navajo) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region of the western U.S. with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, and bordering Texas to the east and southeast, Oklahoma to the northeast, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora to the south. The state capital is Santa Fe, which is the oldest capital in the U.S., founded in 1610 as the government seat of Nuevo México in New Spain; the largest city is Albuquerque. New Mexico is the fifth-largest of the fifty states, but with just over 2.1 million residents, ranks 36th in population and 46th 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 from north-to-south, creating a riparian climate 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, and the state hosts many protected wilderness areas and national monuments, including three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the most of any state. New Mexico’s economy and industries are some of the largest in the country, highlighted by the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association, EMNRD, New Mexico Technology Corridor, media in Albuquerque, and its film industry. And the state has is highly diversified sectors in cattle ranching, agriculture, lumber, scientific and technological research, tourism, and the arts, especially textiles and visual arts. Its total gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 was $95.73 billion, with a GDP per capita of roughly $46,300. State tax policy is characterized by low to moderate taxation of resident personal income by national standards, with tax credits, exemptions, and special considerations for military personnel and favorable industries. Due to its large area and economic climate, New Mexico has a significant U.S. military presence, including White Sands Missile Range, and strategically valuable federal research centers, such as 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. In prehistoric times, New Mexico was home to Ancestral Puebloans, Mogollon, and the modern Comanche and Utes. Navajos and Apaches entered the state towards the end of the 15th century. Spanish explorers and settlers arrived in the 16th century, naming the territory Nuevo México after the Aztec Valley of Mexico, more than 250 years before the establishment and naming of the present-day country of Mexico; thus, the state did not derive its name from Mexico. Isolated by its rugged terrain and the relative dominance of its indigenous people, New Mexico was a peripheral part of the viceroyalty of New Spain. Following Mexican independence in 1821, it became an autonomous region of Mexico, albeit increasingly threatened by the centralizing policies of the Mexican government, culminating in the Revolt of 1837; at the same time, the region became more economically dependent on the United States. At the conclusion of the Mexican–American War in 1848, the U.S. annexed New Mexico as part of the larger New Mexico Territory. It played a central role in U.S. westward expansion and was admitted to the Union as the 47th state on January 6, 1912.

NEW MEXICO TERRITORIES.

With a total area of 121,590 square miles (314,900 km2),[1] New Mexico is the fifth-largest state, after Alaska, Texas, California, and Montana. Its eastern border lies along 103°W longitude with the state of Oklahoma, and 2.2 miles (3.5 kilometres) west of 103°W longitude with Texas (due to a 19th-century surveying error). On the southern border, Texas makes up the eastern two-thirds, while the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora make up the western third, with Chihuahua making up about 90% of that. The western border with Arizona runs along the 109° 03’W longitude. The southwestern corner of the state is known as the Bootheel. The 37°N parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in New Mexico’s northwestern corner. Its surface water area is about 292 square miles (760 km2). Despite its popular depiction as mostly arid desert, New Mexico has one of the most diverse landscapes of any U.S. state, ranging from wide, auburn-colored deserts and verdant grasslands, to broken mesas and high, snow-capped peaks. Close to a third of the state is covered in timberland, with heavily forested mountain wildernesses dominating the north. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost part of the Rocky Mountains, run roughly north–south along the east side of the Rio Grande, in the rugged, pastoral north. The Great Plains extend into the eastern third of the state, most notably the Llano Estacado (“Staked Plain”), whose westernmost boundary is marked by the Mescalero Ridge escarpment. The northwestern quadrant of New Mexico is dominated by the Colorado Plateau, characterized by unique volcanic formations, dry grasslands and shrublands, open pinyon-juniper woodland, and mountain forests. The Chihuahuan Desert, which is the largest in North America, extends through the south. Over four–fifths of New Mexico are higher than 4,000 feet (1,250 meters) above sea level. The average elevation ranges from up to 8,000 feet (2,500 meters) above sea level in the northwest, to less than 4,000 feet in the southeast. The highest point is Wheeler Peak at over 13,160 feet (4,011 meters) in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, while the lowest is the Red Bluff Reservoir at around 2,840 feet (866 meters), in the southeastern corner of the state.

LIST OF GOVERNORS OF NEW MEXICO.

Twenty-eight individuals have held the office of governor of New Mexico since the state’s admission to the Union in 1912, two of whom—Edwin L. Mechem and Bruce King—served three non-consecutive terms. King holds the record as New Mexico’s longest-serving governor, with 12 years of service. William C. McDonald, the first governor, took office on January 6, 1912. The current officeholder is Michelle Lujan Grisham, who took office on January 1, 2019, as the first elected female Democratic governor of the state. Governors are limited to two consecutive terms, but a former governor is eligible for re-election after an intervening governor’s term expires.

Governors under U.S. military rule

In 1846 the U.S. Army under Stephen W. Kearny invaded and occupied New Mexico. Military governors at times were assisted by civilian governors.

Military governors were:

Governor	Took office	Left office	Notes
1		General Stephen W. Kearny	August 18, 1846	September 25, 1846	Military
2		Colonel Sterling Price	September 25, 1846	October 11, 1848	Military
3		Lieutenant Colonel John M. Washington	October 11, 1848	October 23, 1849	Military and civilian[1]
4		Colonel John Munroe	October 23, 1849	March 3, 1851	Military and civilian[2

Civilian governors were:

Governors of the Territory of New Mexico

In 1850 New Mexico was organized as a Territory.

Governors of the State of New Mexico

MEMBERS OF REPRESENTATIVES TO THE U.S. HOUSE FROM NEW MEXICO

The following is an alphabetical list of members of the United States House of Representatives from the state of New Mexico. For chronological tables of members of both houses of the United States Congress from the state (through the present day), see United States congressional delegations from New Mexico. The list of names should be complete (as of January 3, 2019), but other data may be incomplete. It includes members who have represented both the state and the territory, both past and present.

LIST OF MEMBERS AND DELEGATES