New Mexico is located in the Southwestern region of the U.S, alongside Arizona. The state can proudly claim to have one of the most diverse landscapes in the world.
New Mexicans are a smart bunch. The place has more Ph.D. holders per capita than any other state in America. Largely because the city of Albuquerque hosts Sandia National Laboratories and many other research facilities.
New Mexico Facts Trivia Questions and Answers
Animals native to New Mexico include the kangaroo rat, coyotes, porcupines, bobcats, badgers e.t.c. At higher elevations, you can spot a variety of animals such as mountain lions, minks, foxes, bobcats, black bears, muskrats, mule deer, and bighorn sheep.
This land of enchantment holds lots of surprises. Take the quiz to find out!
1. New Mexico has the highest percentage of what race of people of all the states?
2. A major event occurred near Alamogordo in 1945. What was it?
3. New Mexico has the second-highest percentage of Native Americans after what other state?
4. What was the principal color of New Mexico’s original flag?
5. The Mimbres Indians were known for their stunning black and white pottery, which can be easily mistaken for what?
6. Rockhound State Park is located on the flanks of the Little Florida Mountains near which city?
7. What are the three major tribes represented in New Mexico?
8. The first nuclear weapon of any kind was detonated in New Mexico. What was the date that this occurred?
9. New Mexico got its name in 1563, and again in 1581, by who?
10. Which major river flows through the center of New Mexico?
11. How big is New Mexico in square miles?
12. In what New Mexico city does a large artistic community thrive and has included such people as Bruce Nauman, Richard Tuttle, John Connell and Steina Vasulka?
13. What vegetable is Hatch, New Mexico famous for?
14. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the state was what?
15. State legislatures, sometimes having little else of importance to do, define certain things as representative of their state. New Mexico’s legislature has defined the “state question”. What is it?
16. What city hosts the famed annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta every fall?
17. What was the lowest ever recorded temperature in New Mexico?
18. The eastern border of New Mexico has an irregularity in the northern corner with Oklahoma. How many miles further east is New Mexico’s eastern border with Oklahoma compared to Texas?
19. New Mexico’s first inhabitants are believed to have been members of what culture?
20. Many, many years passed. Flowing water easily carved caves and canyons in the soft volcanic rock that coated the surrounding mesas. What is the name for this type of rock, made up of compacted ash?
21. What Spanish explorer assembled a huge expedition at Compostela in 1540–1542 to find the mystical Seven Golden Cities of Cibola?
22. One of the world’s best-preserved volcanic calderas is the Valles Caldera, located in which mountains?
23. At about the year 1608, Santa Fe was established at the foot of what mountains?
24. Santa Fe is the capital of New Mexico, and it is the oldest capital in the United States. What year was Santa Fe established?
25. New Mexico was the 47th state admitted to the Union by congress on what date?
26. What two colors make up the New Mexican flag?
27. In 1928 the discovery of what substance brought prosperity to the state?
28. What is Roswell best-known for?
29. The Midwest State No. 1 well, begun in late 1927 was drilled to 4,330 feet and the well until what year?
30. What type of bombs were designed and manufactured at Los Alamos during World War II?
31. Where does the Rio Grande originate?
32. Where was the first atomic bomb tested?
33. Lots of dinosaur fossils are found in which wilderness area?
34. New Mexico is home to how many Air Force bases?
35. Where does New Mexico rank among the states in the production of crude oil and natural gas?
36. New Mexico provides a number of economic incentives to businesses operating in the state, with most of the incentives based on what?
37. Carlsbad Caverns is one of the largest cave systems in the world, and may become the largest cave system as new connecting caves are found frequently in the area. At the edge of what mountain range does Carlsbad Caverns lie?
38. How much water area does New Mexico have in square miles?
39. Tourists also visit native pueblos of New Mexico and thus bring significant what to the state?
40. Which National Monument is located close to Los Alamos and White Rock?
41. Upham, is the location of the world’s first operational commercial what?
42. What animal is Capitan best known for?
43. The reservation of the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and Arizona is the largest in the United States with how many acres?
44. Who was New Mexico’s first United States senator?
45. The National Hispanic Cultural Center has held hundreds of performing arts events, art showcases, and other events related to what?
46. The two youngest lava flows in the continental United States are both in New Mexico. One of these is the McCarty flow. Which volcanic region is home to this flow?
47. White Sands National Monument encompasses miles and miles of pure white gypsum sand dunes. How many square miles is it?
48. Silver City, in the southwestern mountains, was originally a mining town but it is better known as the center for a large number of what?
49. Which month does the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta take place?
50. What is New Mexico’s state tree?
51. What is Ruidoso Downs famous for?
52. What is the scientific name of New Mexico’s state bird?
53. Who designed the present New Mexico State capitol (a.k.a. The Roundhouse)?
54. What were the first Indians to occupy the land which is now New Mexico?
55. Turquoise is a semi-precious stone that has been mined for centuries in New Mexico. One of the chief turquoise-producing areas in North America is outside what town?
56. Where were the words “I become Death, the shatterer of worlds” most famously uttered in New Mexico?
57. What is the state insect?
58. What is the HIGHEST point in New Mexico?
59. What is the LOWEST point in NM?
60. What is true about the New Mexico capitol building?
61. Name some celebrities that resided in Roswell at one point?
62. Which river carves a 600-foot-deep canyon into the Great Plains before leaving the state to continue its 760-mile journey to the Arkansas River?
63. Albuquerque is becoming a great place to do business, and has some great companies. Which famous company found its creation in Albuquerque but later moved?
64. New Mexico is known as the:
65. Dinosaur tracks are one of the major attractions at which State Park?
66. What is the name of the outlaw that resided in Lincoln County, New Mexico?
67. New Mexico is often depicted in pictures as a desert country with Saguaro cactus looming in the sky line. Not only do Saguaro not grow in New Mexico, but New Mexico is only what percent desert?
68. What is the only county in New Mexico named after a vice president?
69. Which famous hotel baron is from New Mexico?
70. What is the striking, 2000-foot tall volcanic neck exposed near Farmington, New Mexico?
71. What does the Zia symbol represent on the New Mexican flag?
72. What town hosts the World’s Greatest Lizard Race?
73. What attraction is located northeast of Taos?
74. Name the national flower of New Mexico?
75. Where can you find the world’s largest solar telescope?