New Mexico
U.S. state / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about New Mexico?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
New Mexico (Spanish: Nuevo México[Note 2][7] [ˈnweβo ˈmexiko] ⓘ; Navajo: Yootó Hahoodzo Navajo pronunciation: [jòːtʰó hɑ̀hòːtsò]) is a 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 Texas to the east and southeast, Oklahoma to the northeast, and 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.
This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. (June 2023) |
New Mexico
| |
---|---|
State of New Mexico Estado de Nuevo México (Spanish) | |
Nickname: The Land of Enchantment | |
Motto: Crescit eundo (English: It grows as it goes) | |
Anthem:
| |
Country | United States |
Before statehood |
|
Admitted to the Union | January 6, 1912 (47th) |
Capital | Santa Fe |
Largest city | Albuquerque |
Largest metro and urban areas | Albuquerque Metropolitan Area |
Government | |
• Governor | Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) |
• Lieutenant Governor | Howie Morales (D) |
Legislature | New Mexico Legislature |
• Upper house | Senate |
• Lower house | House of Representatives |
Judiciary | New Mexico Supreme Court |
U.S. senators |
|
U.S. House delegation |
|
Area | |
• Total | 121,591[1] sq mi (314,915 km2) |
• Land | 121,298[1] sq mi (314,161 km2) |
• Water | 292[1] sq mi (757 km2) 0.24% |
• Rank | 5th |
Dimensions | |
• Length | 371 mi (596 km) |
• Width | 344 mi (552 km) |
Elevation | 5,701 ft (1,741 m) |
Highest elevation | 13,161 ft (4,011.4 m) |
Lowest elevation | 2,845 ft (868 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 2,117,522 |
• Rank | 36th |
• Density | 17.2/sq mi (6.62/km2) |
• Rank | 45th |
• Median household income | $51,945 |
• Income rank | 45th |
Demonym(s) | New Mexican (Spanish: Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)[4] |
Language | |
• Official language | None |
• Spoken language | English, Spanish (New Mexican), Navajo, Keres, Zuni[5] |
Time zone | UTC−07:00 (Mountain) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−06:00 (MDT) |
USPS abbreviation | NM |
ISO 3166 code | US-NM |
Traditional abbreviation | N.M., N.Mex. |
Latitude | 31°20′ N to 37°N |
Longitude | 103° W to 109°3′ W |
Website | www |
List of state symbols | |
---|---|
Living insignia | |
Bird | Greater roadrunner |
Fish | Rio Grande cutthroat trout |
Flower | Yucca |
Grass | Blue grama |
Insect | Tarantula Hawk Wasp |
Mammal | American black bear |
Reptile | New Mexico whiptail |
Tree | Two-needle piñon |
Inanimate insignia | |
Color(s) | Red and yellow |
Food | Chile peppers, pinto beans, and biscochitos |
Fossil | Coelophysis |
Gemstone | Turquoise |
Other | The smell of roasting green chile[6] |
State route marker | |
State quarter | |
Released in 2008 | |
Lists of United States state symbols |
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 46th in population density.[8] 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 U.S. state.[9]
New Mexico's economy is highly diversified, including cattle ranching, agriculture, lumber, scientific and technological research, tourism, and the arts, especially textiles and visual arts. Major sectors include mining, oil and gas, aerospace, media, and film.[10][11][12][13] Its total gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 was $95.73 billion, with a GDP per capita of roughly $46,300.[14][15] 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,[16][failed verification – see discussion] New Mexico has a significant U.S. military presence, including White Sands Missile Range, and strategically valuable federal 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.
In prehistoric times, New Mexico was home to Ancestral Puebloans, the Mogollon culture, and ancestral Ute.[17] Navajos and Apaches arrived in the late 15th century and the Comanches in the early 18th century. The Pueblo peoples occupied several dozen villages, primarily in the Rio Grande valley of northern New Mexico.[18][19] Spanish explorers and settlers arrived in the 16th century from present-day Mexico.[20][21][22] Isolated by its rugged terrain, New Mexico was a peripheral part of the viceroyalty of New Spain dominated by Comancheria. 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 U.S. Following 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's history has contributed to its unique demographic and cultural character. It is one of only seven majority-minority states, with the nation's highest percentage of Hispanic and Latino Americans and the second-highest percentage of Native Americans after Alaska.[23] The state is home to one–third of the Navajo Nation, 19 federally recognized Pueblo communities, and three federally recognized Apache tribes. Its large Hispanic population includes Hispanos descended from settlers during the Spanish era,[24][25] and later groups of Mexican Americans since the 19th century. The New Mexican flag, which is among the most recognizable in the U.S.,[26] reflects the state's eclectic origins, featuring the ancient sun symbol of the Zia, a Puebloan tribe, with the scarlet and gold coloration of the Spanish flag.[27] The confluence of indigenous, Hispanic (Spanish and Mexican), and American influences is also evident in New Mexico's unique cuisine, music genre, and architectural styles.
New Mexico received its name long before the present-day nation of Mexico won independence from Spain and adopted that name in 1821. The name "Mexico" derives from Nahuatl and originally referred to the heartland of the Mexica, the rulers of the Aztec Empire, in the Valley of Mexico. Mexican history placed their people's origin in Aztlán, a place to the north from which they migrated to Mexico. This account and reports by Spanish explorers of the trade network of the Pueblos and others eventually evolved into the folklore of the Seven Cities of Gold. The 1609 Nahuatl-language Crónica Mexicayotl made the identification of New Mexico and Aztlán explicit, describing how the Mexica people left "their home there in Old Mexico Aztlan Quinehuayan Chicomoztoc, which today they call New Mexico (yancuic mexico)."[28][29]
Following their conquest of the Aztecs in the early 16th century, the Spanish began exploring what is now the Southwestern United States calling it Nuevo México. In 1581, the Chamuscado and Rodríguez Expedition named the region north of the Rio Grande San Felipe del Nuevo México.[30] The Spaniards had hoped to find wealthy indigenous cultures similar to the Mexica. The indigenous cultures of New Mexico, however, proved to be unrelated to the Mexica and lacking in riches, but the name persisted.[31][32]
Before statehood in 1912, the name "New Mexico" loosely applied to various configurations of territories in the same general area, which evolved throughout the Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. periods, but typically encompassed most of present-day New Mexico along with sections of neighboring states.[33]
Prehistory
The first known inhabitants of New Mexico were members of the Clovis culture of Paleo-Indians.[34]: 19 Footprints discovered in 2017 suggest that humans may have been present in the region as long ago as 21,000–23,000 BC.[35] Later inhabitants include the Mogollon and Ancestral Pueblo cultures, which are characterized by sophisticated pottery work and urban development;[36]: 52 pueblos or their remnants, like those at Acoma, Taos, and Chaco Culture National Historical Park, indicate the scale of Ancestral Puebloan dwellings within the area. These cultures form part of the broader Oasisamerica region of pre-Columbian North America.
The vast trade networks of the Ancestral Puebloans led to legends throughout Mesoamerica and the Aztec Empire (Mexico) of an unseen northern empire that rivaled their own, which they called Yancuic Mexico, literally translated as "a new Mexico".
Nuevo México
New Spain era
Aztec legends of a prosperous empire to their north became the primary basis for the mythical Seven Cities of Gold, which spurred exploration by Spanish conquistadors following their conquest of the Aztecs in the early 16th century; prominent explorers included Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, Estevanico, and Marcos de Niza.
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado assembled an enormous expedition at Compostela in 1540–1542 in search of these fabled golden cities.[36]: 19–24 Francisco de Ibarra was one of the first Spaniards to use the term New Mexico, after reporting his findings in 1563 as confirmation of "a New Mexico".[37] Juan de Oñate officially established the name when he was appointed the first governor of the new Province of New Mexico in 1598.[36]: 36–37 The same year, he founded the San Juan de los Caballeros capital at San Gabriel de Yungue-Ouinge, the first permanent European settlement in New Mexico,[38] on the Rio Grande near Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo.[36]: 37 Oñate extended El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Royal Road of the Interior, by 700 miles (1,100 km) from Santa Bárbara, Chihuahua, to his remote colony.[39]: 49 But following the heavy-handed treatment of the natives, Oñate was exiled from New Mexico.[40]
The settlement of La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís — modern day Santa Fe — was established by Pedro de Peralta as a more permanent capital at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in 1610.[39]: 182 Towards the end of the 17th century, the Pueblo Revolt drove out the Spanish and occupied these early cities for over a decade.[41] After the death of Pueblo leader Popé, Diego de Vargas restored the area to Spanish rule,[36]: 68–75 with Puebloans offered greater cultural and religious liberties.[42][43][34]: 6, 48 Returning settlers founded La Villa de Alburquerque in 1706 at Old Town Albuquerque as a trading center for existing surrounding communities such as Barelas, Isleta, Los Ranchos, and Sandia;[36]: 84 it was named for the viceroy of New Spain, Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 10th Duke of Alburquerque.[44] Governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés established the villa in Tiguex to provide free trade access and facilitate cultural exchange in the region.
Beyond forging better relations with the Pueblos, governors were forbearing in their approach to the indigenous peoples, such as was with governor Tomás Vélez Cachupín;[45] the comparatively large reservations in New Mexico and Arizona are partly a legacy of Spanish treaties recognizing indigenous land claims in Nuevo México.[46] Nevertheless, relations between the various indigenous groups and Spanish settlers remained nebulous and complex, varying from trade and commerce to cultural assimilation and intermarriage to total warfare. During most of the 18th century, raids by Navajo, Apache, and especially Comanche inhibited the growth and prosperity of the New Mexico. The region's harsh environment and remoteness, surrounded by hostile Native Americans, fostered a greater degree of self-reliance, as well as pragmatic cooperation, between the Pueblo peoples and colonists. Many indigenous communities enjoyed a large measure of autonomy well into the late 19th century due to the improved governance.
To encourage settlement in its vulnerable periphery, Spain awarded land grants to European settlers in Nuevo México; due to the scarcity of water throughout the region, the vast majority of colonists resided in the central valley of the Rio Grande and its tributaries. Most communities were walled enclaves consisting of adobe houses that opened onto a plaza, from which four streets ran outward to small, private agricultural plots and orchards; these were watered by acequias, community owned and operated irrigation canals. Just beyond the wall was the ejido, communal land for grazing, firewood, or recreation. By 1800, the population of New Mexico had reached 25,000 (not including indigenous inhabitants), far exceeding the territories of California and Texas.[47]
Mexico era
As part of New Spain, the province of New Mexico became part of the First Mexican Empire in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence.[36]: 109 Upon its secession from Mexico in 1836, the Republic of Texas claimed the portion east of the Rio Grande, based on the erroneous assumption that the older Hispanic settlements of the upper Rio Grande were the same as the newly established Mexican settlements of Texas. The Texan Santa Fe Expedition was launched to seize the contested territory but failed with the capture and imprisonment of the entire army by the Hispanic New Mexico militia.
During the turn of the 19th century, the extreme northeastern part of New Mexico, north of the Canadian River and east of the spine of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, was still claimed by France, which sold it in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. When the Louisiana Territory was admitted as a state in 1812, the U.S. reclassified the remaining land as part of the Missouri Territory. The region (along with territory comprising present-day southeastern Colorado, the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, and southwestern Kansas) was ceded to Spain under the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819.
When the First Mexican Republic began to transition into the Centralist Republic of Mexico, they began to centralize power ignoring the sovereignty of Santa Fe and disregarding Pueblo land rights. This led to the Chimayó Rebellion in 1837, led by genízaro José Gonzales.[48] The death of then governor Albino Pérez during the revolt, was met with further hostility. Though José Gonzales was executed due to his involvement in the governor's death, subsequent governors Manuel Armijo and Juan Bautista Vigil y Alarid agreed with some of the underlying sentiment. This led to New Mexico becoming financially and politically tied to the U.S., and preferring trade along the Santa Fe Trail.
Territorial phase
Following the victory of the United States in the Mexican–American War (1846–48), Mexico ceded its northern territories to the U.S., including California, Texas, and New Mexico.[36]: 132 The Americans were initially heavy-handed in their treatment of former Mexican citizens, triggering the Taos Revolt in 1847 by Hispanos and their Pueblo allies; the insurrection led to the death of territorial governor Charles Bent and the collapse of the civilian government established by Stephen W. Kearny. In response, the U.S. government appointed local Donaciano Vigil as governor to better represent New Mexico,[49] and also vowed to accept the land rights of Nuevomexicans and grant them citizenship. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln symbolized the recognition of Native land rights with the Lincoln Canes, sceptres of office gifted to each of the Pueblos, a tradition dating back to Spanish and Mexican eras.[50][51]
After the Republic of Texas was admitted as a state in 1846, it attempted to claim the eastern portion of New Mexico east of the Rio Grande, while the California Republic and State of Deseret each claimed parts of western New Mexico. Under the Compromise of 1850, these regions were forced by the U.S. government to drop their claims, Texas received $10 million in federal funds, California was granted statehood, and officially establishing the Utah Territory; therein recognizing most of New Mexico's historically established land claims.[36]: 135 Pursuant to the compromise, Congress established the New Mexico Territory in September of that year;[52] it included most of present-day Arizona and New Mexico, along with the Las Vegas Valley and what would later become Clark County in Nevada.
In 1853, the U.S. acquired the mostly desert southwestern bootheel of the state, along with Arizona's land south of the Gila River, in the Gadsden Purchase, which was needed for the right-of-way to encourage construction of a transcontinental railroad.[36]: 136
U.S. Civil War, American Indian Wars, and American frontier
When the U.S. Civil War broke out in 1861, both Confederate and Union governments claimed ownership and territorial rights over New Mexico Territory. The Confederacy claimed the southern tract as its own Arizona Territory, and as part of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the war, waged the ambitious New Mexico Campaign to control the American Southwest and open up access to Union California. Confederate power in the New Mexico Territory was effectively broken after the Battle of Glorieta Pass in 1862, though the Confederate territorial government continued to operate out of Texas. More than 8,000 soldiers from New Mexico Territory served in the Union Army.[53]
The end of the war saw rapid economic development and settlement in New Mexico, which attracted homesteaders, ranchers, cowboys, businessmen, and outlaws;[54] many of the folklore characters of the Western genre had their origins in New Mexico, most notably businesswoman Maria Gertrudis Barceló, outlaw Billy the Kid, and lawmen Pat Garrett and Elfego Baca. The influx of "Anglo Americans" from the eastern U.S. (which include African Americans and recent European immigrants) reshaped the state's economy, culture, and politics. Into the late 19th century, the majority of New Mexicans remained ethnic mestizos of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry (primarily Pueblo, Navajo, Apache, Genízaro, and Comanche), many of whom had roots going back to Spanish settlement in the 16th century; this distinctly New Mexican ethnic group became known as Hispanos and developed a more pronounced identity vis-a-vis the newer Anglo arrivals. Politically, they still controlled most town and county offices through local elections, and wealthy ranching families commanded considerable influence, preferring business, legislative, and judicial relations with fellow indigenous New Mexican groups. By contrast, Anglo Americans, who were "outnumbered, but well-organized and growing"[55] tended to have more ties to the territorial government, whose officials were appointed by the U.S. federal government; subsequently, newer residents of New Mexico generally favored maintaining territorial status, which they saw as a check on Native and Hispano influence.
A consequence of the civil war was intensifying conflict with indigenous peoples, which was part of the broader American Indian Wars along the frontier. The withdrawal of troops and material for the war effort had prompted raids by hostile tribes, and the federal government moved to subdue the many native communities that had been effectively autonomous throughout the colonial period. Following the elimination of the Confederate threat, Brigadier General James Carleton, who had assumed command of the Military Department of New Mexico in 1862, led what he described as a "merciless war against all hostile tribes" that aimed to "force them to their knees, and then confine them to reservations where they could be Christianized and instructed in agriculture."[54] With famed frontiersman Kit Carson placed in charge of troops in the field, powerful indigenous groups such as the Navajo, Mescalero Apache, Kiowa, and Comanche were brutally pacified through a scorched earth policy, and thereafter forced into barren and remote reservations. Sporadic conflicts continued into the late 1880s, most notably the guerilla campaigns led by Apache chiefs Victorio and his son-in-law Nana.
The political and cultural clashes between these competing ethnic groups sometimes culminated in mob violence, including lynchings of Native, Hispanic, and Mexican peoples, as was attempted at the Frisco shootout in 1884. Nevertheless, prominent figures from across these communities, and from both the Democratic and Republican parties, attempted to fight this prejudice and forge a more cohesive, multiethnic New Mexican identity; they include lawmen Baca and Garrett, and governors Curry, Hagerman, and Otero.[56][57] Indeed, some territorial governors, like Lew Wallace, had served in both the Mexican and American militaries.[58]
Statehood
The United States Congress admitted New Mexico as the 47th state on January 6, 1912.[36]: 166 It had been eligible for statehood 60 years earlier, but was delayed due to the perception that its majority Hispanic population was "alien" to U.S. culture and political values.[59] When the U.S. entered the First World War roughly five years later, New Mexicans volunteered in significant numbers, in part to prove their loyalty as full-fledged citizens of the U.S. The state ranked fifth in the nation for military service, enlisting more than 17,000 recruits from all 33 counties; over 500 New Mexicans were killed in the war.[60]
Indigenous-Hispanic families had long been established since the Spanish and Mexican era,[61] but most American settlers in the state had an uneasy relationship with the large Native American tribes.[62] Most indigenous New Mexicans lived on reservations and near old placitas and villas. In 1924, Congress passed a law granting all Native Americans U.S. citizenship and the right to vote in federal and state elections. However, Anglo-American arrivals into New Mexico enacted Jim Crow laws against Hispanos, Hispanic Americans, and those who did not pay taxes, targeting indigenous affiliated individuals;[63] because Hispanics often had interpersonal relationships with indigenous peoples, they were often subject to segregation, social inequality, and employment discrimination.[62]
During the fight for women's suffrage in the United States, New Mexico's Hispano and Mexican women at the forefront included Trinidad Cabeza de Baca, Dolores "Lola" Armijo, Mrs. James Chavez, Aurora Lucero, Anita "Mrs. Secundino" Romero, Arabella "Mrs. Cleofas" Romero and her daughter, Marie.[64][65]
A major oil discovery in 1928 near the town of Hobbs brought greater wealth to the state, especially in surrounding Lea County.[66] The New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources called it "the most important single discovery of oil in New Mexico's history".[67] Nevertheless, agriculture and cattle ranching remained the primary economic activities.
New Mexico was greatly transformed by the U.S. entry into the Second World War in December 1941. As in the First World War, patriotism ran high among New Mexicans, including among marginalized Hispanic and indigenous communities; on a per capita basis, New Mexico produced more volunteers, and suffered more casualties, than any other state. The war also spurred economic development, particularly in extractive industries, with the state becoming a leading supplier of several strategic resources. New Mexico's rough terrain and geographic isolation made it an attractive location for several sensitive military and scientific installations; the most famous was Los Alamos, one of the central facilities of the Manhattan Project, where the first atomic bombs were designed and manufactured. The first bomb was tested at Trinity site in the desert between Socorro and Alamogordo, which is today part of the White Sands Missile Range.[36]: 179–180
As a legacy of the Second World War, New Mexico continues to receive large amounts of federal government spending on major military and research institutions. In addition to the White Sands Missile Range, the state hosts three U.S. Air Force bases that were established or expanded during the war. While the high military presence brought considerable investment, it has also been the center of controversy; on May 22, 1957, a B-36 accidentally dropped a nuclear bomb 4.5 miles from the control tower while landing at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque; only its conventional "trigger" detonated.[68][69] The Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, two of the nation's leading federal scientific research facilities, originated from the Manhattan Project. The focus on high technology is still a top priority of the state, to the extent that it became a center for unidentified flying objects, especially following the 1947 Roswell incident.
New Mexico saw its population nearly double from roughly 532,000 in 1940 to over 954,000 by 1960.[70][71] In addition to federal personnel and agencies, many residents and businesses moved to the state, particularly from the northeast, often drawn by its warm climate and low taxes.[72] The pattern continues into the 21st century, with New Mexico adding over 400,000 residents between 2000 and 2020.
Native Americans from New Mexico fought for the United States in both world wars. Returning veterans were disappointed to find their civil rights limited by state discrimination. In Arizona and New Mexico, veterans challenged state laws or practices prohibiting them from voting. In 1948, after veteran Miguel Trujillo Sr. of Isleta Pueblo was told by the county registrar that he could not register to vote, he filed suit against the county in federal district court. A three-judge panel overturned as unconstitutional New Mexico's provisions that Native Americans who did not pay taxes (and could not document if they had paid taxes) could not vote.[63][Note 3]
In the early to mid-20th century, the art presence in Santa Fe grew, and it became known as one of the world's great art centers.[73] The presence of artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe attracted many others, including those along Canyon Road.[74] In the late 20th century, Native Americans were authorized by federal law to establish gaming casinos on their reservations under certain conditions, in states which had authorized such gaming. Such facilities have helped tribes close to population centers generate revenues for reinvestment in the economic development and welfare of their peoples. The Albuquerque metropolitan area is home to several casinos as a result.[75]
In the 21st century, employment growth areas in New Mexico include electronic circuitry, scientific research, information technology, casinos, art of the American Southwest, food, film, and media, particularly in Albuquerque.[76] The state was the founding location of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, which led to the founding of Microsoft in Albuquerque.[77] Intel maintains their F11X in Rio Rancho, which also hosts an IT center for HP Inc.[78][79] New Mexico's culinary scene became recognized and is now a source of revenue for the state.[80][81][82] Albuquerque Studios has become a filming hub for Netflix, and it was brought international media production companies to the state like NBCUniversal.[83][84][85]
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of New Mexico on March 11, 2020. On December 23, 2020, the New Mexico Department of Health reported 1,174 new COVID-19 cases and 40 deaths, bringing the cumulative statewide totals to 133,242 cases and 2,243 deaths since the start of the pandemic.[86] During the last quarter of 2020, COVID-19 hospitalizations in New Mexico increased, reaching a peak of 947 hospitalizations on December 3.
The most populous counties in the state have seen the largest number of infections, but by mid-April, the northwest counties of McKinley and San Juan became the most infected areas in the state, with Sandoval County also seeing a high infection rate. All of these counties have large Native American populations. According to the state's data dashboard, American Indians had nearly 58 percent of the statewide infection rates as of May 15. On April 25, McKinley County had the highest total number of cases while San Juan County had the highest number of deaths by April 26. However, by the end of July, Hispanics/Latinos had a plurality of cases. The portion of cases among American Indians continued to decline, and by mid February 2021 was below that of whites.[86]