New Mexico Map Activity
A printable New Mexico map worksheet: colour the state, label Santa Fe and its major cities, and draw in the rivers and higher ground.
5 questions · Map activity · Application
New Mexico is one of the fifty states, and its capital is Santa Fe. This sheet prints the outline of the state large enough to work on, with a star already marking the capital, and a small map of the whole country in the corner so a student can see where New Mexico sits. The five tasks move from colouring the state in to placing its cities, rivers and mountains — the same order an atlas builds a map up in.
New Mexico
Capital: Santa Fe
New Mexico Map Activity
This is a map of New Mexico. Use the facts in the box and the star on the map to finish all five tasks.
Remember
- The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe.
- Three of its largest cities are Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Roswell.
- Rivers in New Mexico include Rio Grande, Pecos River and San Juan River.
- Its higher ground includes Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Rocky Mountains.
Your tasks
Work down the list in order. Everything is done on the big map below.
- 1.
Colour the whole state of New Mexico lightly in one colour, staying inside the outline.
- 2.
Find the star on the map. Write the name of the state capital on the line beside it.
- 3.
Mark and label these cities with a dot: Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Roswell.
- 4.
Draw and label these rivers: Rio Grande and Pecos River.
- 5.
Shade where this higher ground is and label it: Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Rocky Mountains.
★ marks Santa Fe, the state capital. Write its name on the line.
Answer key
Your tasks
- 1.The whole outline is coloured in, and the colouring stays inside the border.
- 2.Santa Fe - the capital of New Mexico. The star is printed where the city is.
- 3.Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Roswell - each marked with a dot and labelled. Albuquerque is the largest of them.
- 4.Rio Grande and Pecos River - drawn as a wiggly line and labelled.
- 5.Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Rocky Mountains - shaded and labelled in roughly the right part of the state.
What this sheet teaches
- Find New Mexico on a map of the United States.
- Name and locate Santa Fe, the state capital.
- Locate Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Roswell within the state.
- Draw the main rivers of New Mexico and say roughly where they run.
Notes for the adult
- Coloured pencils are enough — there is nothing here that needs paint or a printed atlas.
- Task 2 is the one to check first: the star is printed exactly where Santa Fe is, so a child who writes another city has read the map rather than the fact box.
- The city and river positions are for the student to estimate. Mark on whether a label is in the right part of the state, not on whether it is within a few miles.
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