The landscape is composed of desert pools and oases harboring a number of fish and aquatic organisms. Some of these, like cichlids and pupfish, are found in these pools and nowhere else on Earth.
The merest actions on this landscape can disturb its precarious balance harming its life-giving qualities. Ranching is a way of life here and what little surface water exists is often diverted toward agriculture irrigation or feeding cattle. Overgrazing, overharvesting of native species like mesquite, gypsum mining and widespread development are disturbing nature's delicate balance.
The Conservancy worked with Pronatura Noreste to purchase and protect the 49,acre Rancho El Uno , a critical habitat for the prairie dog, in He and his troops, cooks, priests, and beasts reportedly spent the winter of that year in an Indian pueblo on the west bank of the Rio Grande 20 miles north of Albuquerque. The site is now a state monument just northwest of the town of Bernalillo.
Coronado left, and wealthy Spanish settlers began arriving in greater numbers, but the Pueblo Rebellion of discouraged further settlement until Spanish General Don Diego de Vargas arrived in By the 17th century it was sufficiently populated to have acquired a name: Bosque Grande de San Francisco Xavier. In , the ambitious provisional governor of the territory, Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdez, petitioned the Spanish government for permission to establish the bosque as a formal villa and call it Alburquerque, after Viceroy Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva, the Duke of Alburquerque.
Confederate troops occupied Albuquerque briefly in the Civil War and installed 8 defensive cannons 4 of them are still on display in Old Town. Once the war was over, Anglo settlers, mostly merchants, tradesmen, artisans, doctors, and lawyers, began arriving in force. The railroad arrived in , affecting the development of specific sectors of the city and drastically altering its ethnic makeup. By , Albuquerque had become predominantly Anglo in population. The consequent influx of residents from the East and the Midwest brought enormous changes to the prevailing architecture of the city, and to the region as a whole.
In , Albuquerque incorporated as a town, and 6 years later as a city. In , Albuquerque won the rather heated battle for the right to locate the state university in the city. In , New Mexico was admitted to the US, the 47th state in the Union Arizona, the 48th, was admitted later that same year.
Extending from Chicago to Los Angeles, the original U. Route 66, as it passed through New Mexico, was a circuitous if all-encompassing road running from Santa Rosa to Las Vegas to Santa Fe, down to Albuquerque, farther south to Los Lunas, and then back north and west along the railroad right-of-way.
In , Route 66 was straightened, running right along Albuquerque's Central Avenue. The Native American culture is probably the most deeply rooted of the many branches that make up the diverse ethnic and cultural environment of New Mexico. The Anasazi Indians were virtually the first identifiable inhabitants of the Southwest. New Mexico is famous for its turquoise gemstones, and nowhere more so than the Cerrillos Hills , just south of Santa Fe. Featuring not so much hills as medium-sized mountains, New Mexico's newest state park is home to some of the oldest and most productive turquoise mines in North America.
With so many prospectors on the lookout for so long, you're unlikely to find gem-quality shards of the blue-green stone just lying around, but the hills are a worthy destination on their own for the spectacular high-desert hiking and wild west lore. With their long history of mining, for turquoise, iron, silver and other metals, the hills are riddled with holes, but most have been fenced off or wholly reclaimed.
The trails are well-marked, with signs offering information about the productivity of the mines and tales of the miners who carved a rugged living from these mountains between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. At the base of the hills, the tiny, dusty town of Cerrillos is a photographer's dream.
Several movies have been filmed along the town's dirt streets, including Young Guns. Just down the road, the artist community of Madrid offers an assortment of shops and galleries, as well as one of the state's oldest saloons, the Mineshaft Tavern.
Top tip: Check out the best views from the Mirador Overlook. After a hike, head to the Casa Grande Trading Post in Cerrillos to peruse an impressive selection of Cerrillos turquoise — famous for its uniquely greenish hue — set into silver onsite by the owner, who works a claim in the hills.
Drenched by an average of days of sunshine a year, New Mexico is a winter paradise, especially for migrating birds, tens of thousands of which flock to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge , just south of Socorro, between November and May. More than species of birds have been spotted since the refuge was established in , making this one of the most diverse birdwatching spots in North America.
No camping is allowed within the refuge — truly a place for the birds — but you can find sites in the nearby Cibola national forest, as well as further south at Elephant Butte Lake state park. Top tip: Every November, just before Thanksgiving, Bosque del Apache hosts the Festival of the Cranes , a five-day event celebrating the return of the statuesque sandhill cranes.
The festival is a draw for birdwatchers and wildlife photographers, with workshops, lectures and guided tours of the 57,acre reserve. New Mexico has no shortage of interesting rock formations, and this cluster of boulders, near Silver City in the southwestern corner of the state, lives up to its odd name. The house-sized rocks are lined up on a grid, like buildings arranged on city blocks.
City of Rocks was created by a volcanic eruption around 35m years ago. Over time, the rocks have been shaped by weathering, creating a paradise for hikers and climbers. Some of the rocks are pitted with Indian Wells — holes worn into the rock to grind corn and collect rainwater, a testament to the long history of human habitation in the Chihuahuan desert. City of Rocks is best visited in late fall, winter or early spring, when temperatures are mild and rattlesnakes are more likely to be dormant.
The park offers 52 campsites, including full RV hookups, and a cactus-rich botanical garden, plus hiking and mountain-biking trails. Top tip: After dark is when City of Rocks really shines, thanks to low light pollution. The park boasts its own inch telescope in a solar-powered observatory, with retractable roof that's open to visitors for star parties several nights a week.
The Gila wilderness, in south-west New Mexico, is one of the wildest corners of the state. Here, Mexican grey wolves still roam and hidden hot springs bubble along the wild and scenic Gila river. This area may be all but uninhabited today, but years ago, the Mogollon tribe made their home here in a series of interconnected cliff dwellings in what is now the Gila Cliff Dwellings national monument.
Archaeologists have identified 46 rooms spread throughout five shallow caves, believed to have housed between 10 and 15 families for several hundred years. A museum and visitor centre maintains a collection of artefacts recovered from the caves, but the most famous find, a mummy of a child nicknamed "Zeke" discovered in , has long been lost to the Smithsonian archives in Washington DC.
Camping is available at the national monument, as well as in the surrounding national forest.
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