How to Use
the Maps

Table of
Contents

Map 1: Northern provinces of New Spain.

The shaded areas represent Spanish settlement. The dashed lines show the boundaries of present-day states.

Map 2: The geography of the West.

Questions for Maps 1 and 2

1. Santa Fe was the capital of the province of New Mexico. Chihuahua was the closest administrative and supply center. Based on the Map 1 scale, how far is it between Santa Fe and Chihuahua? How do you think this distance might have affected early settlers in New Mexico?

2. Identify New Mexico on Map 2 and then find the approximate location of Santa Fe. What route would you follow to get from Chihuahua to Santa Fe? How would you select a route from the northeastern United States? What obstacles would you be likely to encounter, based on the map?

* The maps on this screen have a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a larger version of Map 1 and Map 2 but be aware that each file may take as much as 60 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.