New Mexico Trivia & Tidbits - Page 20

Looking for New Mexico trivia? Try our list New Mexico little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Exhibits tracing 30,000 years of the history of the horse can be found at the Museum of the Horse in Ruidoso (pop. 4,600). The museum, part of the Hubbard Museum of the American West, features exhibits on horse breeding and horsemanship, as well as artifacts, including antique horse-drawn vehicles, saddles, bits, and spurs.

first appeared: 7/8/2001

The San Miguel Mission in Santa Fe is believed to be one of the oldest continuously used churches in the United States. The mission was built in 1610 by the Tlaxcala people of Mexico.

first appeared: 7/1/2001

The American International Rattlesnake Museum in Albuquerque has the largest collection of different species of live rattlesnakes in the world. Here, one can learn, among other things, that the sound of a rattle is not a threat but a sign of fear—and that rattler bites are rarely fatal.

first appeared: 7/1/2001

The Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort, near Espanola (pop. 8,389), is believed to be the oldest health spa in North America. Antonio Joseph turned the hot springs into a spa in 1860 when he built overnight accommodations to serve those seeking to cure illnesses with a bath in the springs or a drink of the water.

first appeared: 6/24/2001

The Zuni Pueblo (pop. 5,857), one of the largest pueblos in New Mexico, evolved from seven Indian communities that Spanish explorer Coronado believed were the mythical Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. Coronado began his unsuccessful quest for treasure in 1540.

first appeared: 6/17/2001

Seven small lakes near Roswell (pop. 47,559) make up Bottomless Lakes State Park, New Mexico’s first state park. The lakes were formed when underground caves collapsed, forming “sinkholes” that filled with water. The lakes, bottomless in name only, range in depth from 17 to 90 feet.

first appeared: 6/10/2001

Thousands of bats populate Carlsbad Caverns, creating a sight to rival the caverns themselves. Each night from early spring through October, the Mexican Freetail bats fill the sky as they fly from the caves in search of food.

first appeared: 6/10/2001

Santa Rosa (pop. 2,263), in the arid high plains, calls itself the “City of Natural Lakes.” The 15 natural lakes and streams near the town are exceptionally clear, making the area a haven for scuba divers.

first appeared: 6/3/2001

The world’s largest enchilada is made every October at the Las Cruces “Whole Enchilada Fiesta.” The enchilada is made with 750 pounds of stone-ground corn (for the tortillas), 75 gallons of red chile sauce, 175 pounds of grated cheese, and 50 pounds of chopped onions.

first appeared: 5/27/2001

The Capulin Volcano, rising more than 1,000 feet above the plains near Raton (pop. 7,372), is one of the most symmetrical volcanic cinder cones in the United States. The volcano is believed to be about 62,000 years old.

first appeared: 5/27/2001

Trinitite is the name given to an extremely rare substance that has only been found in one place on the globe—at the “Trinity” test site for the first atomic bomb near Alamogordo (pop. 27,596). The bomb, detonated in July 1945, melted surrounding sand in the New Mexico desert, which then solidified to become a glass-like material called trinitite. Most of the material was buried or scraped away in the 1950s for security reasons.

first appeared: 5/20/2001

A collapsed lava tube at the Bandera Crater (an extinct volcano) near Grants (pop. 8,626) holds a sort of natural icebox which contains ice believed to be more than 1,800 years old. The shape of the cave traps frigid air that maintains the ice and keeps the temperature at a constant 31 degrees even on the hottest days.

first appeared: 5/13/2001

A collection of artifacts honoring Theodore Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders,” the volunteer cavalrymen who fought in Cuba in 1898 in its battle for independence from Spain, can be found in the City Museum of Las Vegas (pop. 14,753). The largest contingent of Rough Riders came from New Mexico, and Las Vegas came to be known as the group’s home.

first appeared: 5/6/2001

Southern New Mexico is home to the collared peccary—the only wild, native, pig-like animal in the country. It also is known as the javelina and grows to about 5 feet in length.

first appeared: 4/29/2001

New Mexico’s aerospace industry was born in 1930, when Robert Goddard, often called the father of modern rocketry, moved from Massachusetts to Roswell (pop. 44,654) to test models of his rocket designs.

first appeared: 4/29/2001

The Zuni Pueblo (pop. 5,857), one of the state’s largest pueblo villages, developed from seven American Indian communities that Spanish explorer Coronado believed were the mythical Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. Coronado began his unsuccessful quest for treasure in 1540.

first appeared: 4/22/2001

Lew Wallace, a Civil War general and territorial governor of New Mexico from 1878-1881, finished his historical novel, Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ, while living in the “Palace of the Governors” in Santa Fe. The book, published in 1880, was made into a play and three movies.

first appeared: 4/22/2001

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory Very Large Array near Socorro (pop. 8,159) uses 27 giant dish antennas to search the heavens. Each antenna has a diameter of 81 feet and weighs 235 tons.

first appeared: 4/15/2001

The first passenger on an American space shot, Ham the “AstroChimp,” is buried at the International Space Hall of Fame in Alamagordo (pop. 27,596).

first appeared: 4/15/2001

The “Miraculous Staircase” in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe is a spiral staircase with no nails and no visible signs of support. The chapel was completed for the Sisters of Loretto, but it had no stairway to the choir loft. Carpenters said the space was too small for stairs. Legend says after the nuns prayed to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, a transient carpenter appeared, constructed the staircase, and mysteriously left without payment.

first appeared: 4/8/2001

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