This Day in History: January 6, 1912

New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment

"Into New Mexico" - aerial view near the state border of New Mexico and
Colorado showing the Rio Grande river - photo © Storm Crypt (Bryan Earl C. F.)
on Flickr - noncommercial use permitted with attribution / no derivative works.

The nickname for New Mexico is The Land of Enchantment (Tierra del Encanto in Spanish) because of its scenic beauty and rich history (the nickname was officially adopted in 1999). New Mexico also recognizes a state ballad titled "Land of Enchantment - New Mexico." New Mexico's state motto is the Latin phrase "Crescit eundo," which translates as It grows as it goes. . .

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/sc/web/series/701/aerial-america/140777/new-mexico

Aerial America: New Mexico

Georgia O'Keeffe once said, "If you ever go to New Mexico, it will itch you for the rest of your life," and this aerial tour of the state will show you exactly why. Take flight over 121,000 square miles of timeless beauty and national treasures, from the Rio Grande, to adobe structures and dormant volcanoes. See what brought O'Keeffe to the Land of Enchantment, as well as Billy the Kid, the makers of the atomic bomb and perhaps even visitors from far away galaxies.

Congress admitted New Mexico as the 47th state in the Union on January 6, 1912. The extreme northeastern part of New Mexico was owned by France, and sold to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Following the Mexican-American War, from 1846–1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico ceded its mostly unsettled northern holdings, today known as the American Southwest and California, to the United States of America. It is usually considered one of the Mountain States.

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and
western regions of the United States.

New Mexico State Flag

The colors of New Mexico's state flag are the red and yellow of old Spain. The simple, elegant center design is the ancient Zia sun symbol, which represents the unique character of New Mexico.

New Mexico State Seal

Greater roadrunner - photo by Mark A. Wilson on Wikipedia
(public domain image).

New Mexico State Bird: Greater Roadrunner

The roadrunner was designated the official state bird of New Mexico in 1949. Also called the chaparral bird, the roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) inhabits desert and shrubby country in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

New Mexico State Animal: Black Bear

The black bear was designated the official state animal of New Mexico in 1963. A black bear's head is the symbol of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Smokey Bear (selected by the U.S. Forest Service as spokesman and symbol for fire prevention) was found as a cub cowering in an injured tree after a 17,000 acre forest fire in the Lincoln National Forest near Capitan. Smokey is buried in Smokey Bear State Park in Capitan.

New Mexico State Flower: Yucca

New Mexico designated the blossom of the desert yucca plant (pronounced “yuh-ka”) as the state flower in 1927. The yucca flower was selected by the schoolchildren of New Mexico and was recommended by the New Mexico Federation of Women's Clubs. Seeing these lovely flowers in abundance on the plains and deserts of New Mexico, early settlers called them “our Lord’s candles."

For all State Symbols of New Mexico click HERE!

New Mexico State Song

"O Fair New Mexico", the state song of the U.S. state of New Mexico was officially selected in 1917. It was adopted as the state song by an act of the New Mexico legislature, approved on March 14, 1917, as signed by Governor Washington E. Lindsey. The author, Elizabeth Garrett, was the daughter of former Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett, the man who killed Billy the Kid. The musical genre of "O Fair New Mexico" is classified as a tango.