Northern New Mexico in cultural terms usually refers to the area of heavy-

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

settlement in the north-central part of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. However, New Mexico state government also uses the term to mean the northwest and north central, but to exclude both the northeastern high plains counties and

Sandoval County Sandoval County is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 131,561, making it the fourth-most populous county in New Mexico. The county seat is Bernalillo, New Mexico, Bernali ...

. The five largest cities in Northern New Mexico are: Santa Fe,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, Española, Los Alamos, and Raton.

Cultural

The traditional southern boundary of the area is an escarpment called La Bajada southwest of Santa Fe. The other boundaries are poorly defined. The map in is a guide: from La Bajada the boundary runs northwest about 50 miles (80 km) west of U.S. Routes 285 and 84, and northeast about 20 miles (30 km) east of Interstate 25, to the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

border. The area might also be described roughly as comprising

Rio Arriba Rio Arriba County is a List of counties in New Mexico, county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 40,246. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico, Tierra Amarilla. Its nort ...

, Los Alamos,

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colo ...

, and Colfax Counties; northeastern

, northern

Santa Fe County Santa Fe County ( es, Condado de Santa Fe; meaning ''Holy faith'' in Spanish) is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 144,170, making it New Mexico's third-most populous county, after Bernalillo Cou ...

; and western San Miguel and

Mora Mora may refer to: People * Mora (surname) Places Sweden * Mora, Säter, Sweden * Mora, Sweden, the seat of Mora Municipality * Mora Municipality, Sweden United States * Mora, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Mora, Minnesota, a city * M ...

Counties, possibly with parts of adjoining counties. To the west is the

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

region; to the east are the high plains of Eastern New Mexico. While Northern New Mexico, also known as the or upper river area, did receive a lot of Hispanic settlement, much Hispanic colonial settlement also occurred in southern areas, known as the or lower river. The distinction between and dates back to colonial times, and continues to be a cultural and linguistic division in New Mexican Hispano society.

Governmental

New Mexico state government generally divides New Mexico into four regions:

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and Northern New Mexico. For those purposes Northern includes the Four Corners area together with the cultural area, but excludes Sandoval County. The Northwest Region is frequently referred to as the "Four-Corners Region".

Tourism

For tourists, New Mexico is divided into six regions, with Northern New Mexico being divided into North Central Region, Northeast Region and Northwest Region. Sandoval County is part of the Central Region to the south. Under that schema, the North Central Region includes the core part of cultural Northern New Mexico.

Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area

The

Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The national heritage area includes a section of the upper Rio Grande Valley that has been inhabited by the Puebloan peop ...

is in the Upper

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

Valley and North Central Region of northern New Mexico. It is a federally designated

National Heritage Area In the United States, a National Heritage Area (NHA) is a site designated by Act of Congress, intended to encourage historic preservation of the area and an appreciation of the history and heritage of the site. There are currently 62 NHAs, some ...

. It includes the area that has been inhabited by the

Puebloan peoples The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zun ...

since the early

Pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the Migration to the New World, original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, w ...

Notable people

* Andrew Valdez (born 1951), juvenile court judge for

Salt Lake County, Utah Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The coun ...

.Andrew A. Valdez - Judgepedia

Notes

References

* The second edition doesn't include the map. * *

External links