| The official state flag of New
Mexico was chosen from a flag competition in 1920,
which was held to replace an older New Mexico
flag. The winner was Dr. Harry Mera, a doctor
and archeologist from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dr.
Mera's design is an interpretation of an ancient
Sun symbol called a Zia (this symbol was found
on a water jar made in the late 1800s in Zia Pueblo).
Since four is a sacred number for the Zia, there
are four rays coming from each side of the stylized
Sun. The colors red and yellow are used because
they were the colors of the flag of the Spanish
conquistadors who went to New Mexico in the early
1500s.
Capital: Santa Fe
Nickname: Land of Enchantment
(1999)
Motto: Crescit eundo (It grows
as it goes)
Flower: Yucca (1927)
New Mexico was the 47th state in the USA; it
was admitted in 1912.
For more information about New Mexico click
here.
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