Road Sign Math

New Mexico still has 19 functioning Pueblos. These Pueblos celebrate New Mexico’s long and colorful history with culture dating back to prehistory. In fact, the state flag of New Mexico contains the symbol from the Zia Pueblo.

This mileage sign outside of Pecos National Historical Park celebrates the park for the mathematically inclined with a square root as visitors get ready to visit the ruins of the Pecos Pueblo.

It’s not that Pueblo’s are square. Some are, but most are just rectangular. I have to think that the ones that are truly square were revered as the best. The math on this sign is

\sqrt {25} = 5

This math while being advanced I’m sure was straightforward even for the Pueblo people of the time. The sign complements their achievements in art and culture with science and math.

This sign is found just after you exit I-25 to visit the historic park, on highway 63 exactly 5 miles before you reach the city of Pecos and about 3.1 miles before the park itself. The GPS coordinates for this sign are approximately N35 30 10.3 W105 40 30.0. See sign on map!