The first written records of the region were made by the Spanish Conquistadors, who encountered Native American Pueblos when they explored the area in the 16th century. Since that time, the Spanish Empire, Mexico, and the United States since 1848 have claimed control of the area. The area was governed as New Mexico Territory until 1912, when it was admitted as a state. The relatively isolated state had an economy dependent on mining. Its residents and government suffered from a reputation for corruption and extreme traditionalism. New Mexico introduced the atomic age in 1945, as the first nuclear weapons were developed by the federal government in the research center it established at Los Alamos. Ethnically the state has historically been divided among Native American, Hispanic and Anglo elements—the latter mostly migrants from Texas in the late years.

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拍攝者： Juddirishbradley