Located in the southwest part of the country, this region north of Mexico was named Nuevo Mexico by a Spanish explorer in the 1560 s, giving rise to its present name. Sante Fe, the oldest and present day capital city of New Mexico, was founded in 1610. Like many southwestern states, New Mexico experienced a population boom that began in the 1950's, mostly concentrated around the cities. New Mexico s sparsely populated rural areas and natural resources have allowed for the growth of the farming and ranching industries in the 90's.
Mining is the state s primary economic activity.
The federal government also has various military bases and laboratories in New Mexico, providing much needed employment. NASA has a base in New Mexico, and it is no surprise that the first atomic bomb was tested in 1945 near Alamogordo in White Sands National Monument, a huge desert of pure-white dunes. In the urban areas, the majority of employment is provided by the tourist, retail, computer technology and the service industries. New Mexico considers itself tri-cultural. For almost 70 years, the mostly Hispanic-supported Democratic party controlled the state.