"Combines a good geography of the state with much interesting information along practically any line one might wish to follow."

Navajo Times

"It is a supreme treat to look at a volume so well organized. . . . [T]his is a must-have book."

American West

"School teachers will hail this book with delight, and students at any level will wonder how anyone ever got along without it."

Santa Fe New Mexican

New Mexico's long and dramatic history was in many ways predestined by its location, vast size, and abundant mineral resources. Treasure-hunting Spanish explorers tramped across its plains and scaled its mountains in search of the Seven Cities of Cíbola in the sixteenth century. In clashing with descendants of the prehistoric Indian population, the Spanish began three centuries of struggles that lasted through the nineteenth century when the steamroller of United States expansion arrived. The history of New Mexico is the story of the blending of the three cultures-Hispanic, Indian, and Anglo.

In this volume, a historian and a cartographer collaborate to depict specific aspects of the state's geography and events of its history, with the narrative illustrated through maps. Topics include geographical data (from topography to weather), sites of prehistoric civilizations, Spanish and United States expeditions, first towns, historic trails, the Civil War, stagecoach lines, railroads, county boundaries, principal cities and roads, state and national parks and monuments, and state judicial districts.

Warren A. Beck was Professor of History at California State University, Fullerton. Ynez D. Haase is a professional geographer and cartographer in Santa Barbara. Beck and Haase are coauthors of Historical Atlas of California and Historical Atlas of the American West, also published by the University of Oklahoma Press.