New Mexico has certain geographical conditions. By geographical conditons I mean such things as the surface of the land, rainfall, altitude, and temperature. Four distinct provinces make up New Mexico's land surface. These four are plains, mountains, plateau, and basin and range.

The plains province is an extension of the Great Plains. The Great Plains form the western fringe of the North American lowland. Plains are vast areas that are flat and treeless. The plains in New Mexico cover the eastern third of the state.

The plateau province is part of the Colorado Plateau. A plateau is an elevated area of mostly flat or level land. To the east of the Colorado Plateau lie the Rocky Mountains. To the west are the mountain ranges that run along the Pacific coast. The Colorado Plateau itself is an area where the Colroado River and the streams that flow into it have dug canyons. In New Mexico the Colorado Plateau extends across the northwestern part of the state.

The fourth and final province is the basin and range province. It is the state's largest province. It extends across the southwestern, central, and south-central parts of the state. This province consists of mountain ranges (where Hoop lives) separated from one another by basins. Basins are broad, dry drainage areas. Two such basins are the Estancia Basin and the Tularosa Basin. Two other basins are the Plains of San Augustin and the Rio Grande Valley.

The mountain ranges in this province are many. The Sandia and Manzano mountains are east of Albuquerque. Between Alamogordo and Roswell is the Sacramento Range. To the west of Socorro are the San Mateo Mountains. Between Socorro and Las Cruces are the San Andres Mountains. And in southwestern New Mexico are the Mogollon Mountains.

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