The largest hot air balloon festival in the world is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. As the name implies, it takes place every year in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attracting over 500 balloons and 900,000 attendees.

The Four Corners is a region of the United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. It is the only location in the United States where four states meet.

Smokey Bear, created by the U.S. Forest Service in 1944, is known for the slogan "Remember... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires." The living symbol of Smokey Bear was a five-pound, three month old American black bear cub who was found in the spring of 1950 after the Capitan Gap fire, a wildfire that burned in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico. Smokey had climbed a tree to escape the blaze, but his paws and hind legs had been burned. Local fire crews removed the cub from the tree, and he lived at the National Zoo for 26 years, during which time he received millions of visitors and so many letters (more than 13,000 a week) that the U.S. Postal Service gave him his own ZIP code.

Capulin Volcano's highest point provides unobstructed, panoramic views of the volcanic field, distant snow-capped mountains, and portions of five states: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Colorado.

The United States Congress admitted New Mexico as the 47th state on January 6, 1912. New Mexico was eligible for statehood 60 years earlier but was kept out of the union for more than a half century because it had a majority "alien" (i.e. Mexican-American) population.

In New Mexico, when diners order a dish made with chiles, they are always asked "red or green?" The legislature wanted to recognize the importance that the chile industry has on the state economy. New Mexico is the first state to adopt a state question.

On April 4, 1975, at a time when most Americans still used typewriters, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in an Albuquerque garage. Microsoft relocated to Washington State in 1979 and eventually grew into a major multinational technology corporation. In 1987, the year after Microsoft went public, 31-year-old Gates became the world's youngest billionaire.

Every August, thousands of tourists flock to Deming to laugh and cheer at the Tournament of Ducks Parade, the Duck Royalty Pageant and the hundreds of lucky ducks that race for cash prizes.

The largest chamber in Carlsbad Caverns is more than 10 football fields long and about 22 stories high. Actor and comedian Will Rogers called the cavern, "The Grand Canyon with a roof over it."

At 13,167 feet (4,013 m), Wheeler Peak is the highest natural point in the state of New Mexico. It was named for Major George M. Wheeler, who surveyed the area during the 1870s.