Albuquerque

Sister cities

• Chihuahua City
• Kharkiv
• Ashgabat
• Gijón
• Guadalajara
• Hualien City
• Alburquerque
• Helmstedt
• Sasebo
• Rehovot
• Lanzhou

History

Petroglyphs carved into basalt in the western part of the city bear testimony to a Native American presence in the area dating back many centuries. These are preserved in the Petroglyph National Monument. The Tanoan and Keresan peoples had lived along the Rio Grande for centuries before European colonists arrived in the area that developed as Albuquerque. By the 1500s, there were around 20 Tiwa pueblos along a stretch of river from present-day Algodones to the Rio Puerco confluence south of Belen. Of these, 12 or 13 were densely clustered near present-day Bernalillo, and the remainder were spread out to the south. Two Tiwa pueblos lie on the outskirts of present-day Albuquerque. Both have been continuously inhabited for many centuries: Sandia Pueblo was founded in the 14th century, and Pueblo of Isleta is documented in written records since the early 17th century. It was then chosen as the site of the San Agustín de la Isleta Mission, a Catholic mission. Before colonization, the Navajo, Apache, and Comanche peoples likely set up camps in the Albuquerque area, as there is evidence of trade and cultural exchange among these Native American groups dating back centuries before European arrival. Albuquerque was founded in 1706 as an outpost as La Villa de Alburquerque by Francisco Cuervo y Valdés in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. The settlement was named after the original town of Viceroy Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 10th duke of Alburquerque, who was from Alburquerque, Badajoz in southwest Spain. Albuquerque developed primarily for farming and sheep herds. It was a strategically located trading and military outpost along the Camino Real. It served other Tiquex and Hispano towns settled in the area, such as Barelas, Corrales, Isleta Pueblo, Los Ranchos,…

Geography

Albuquerque is located in north-central New Mexico. To its east are the Sandia–Manzano Mountains. The Rio Grande flows north to south through its center, while the West Mesa and Petroglyph National Monument make up the western part of the city. Albuquerque has one of the highest elevations of any major city in the U.S., ranging from above sea level near the Rio Grande to over in the foothill areas of Sandia Heights and Glenwood Hills. The civic apex is found in an undeveloped area within the Albuquerque Open Space; there, the terrain rises to an elevation of approximately , and the metropolitan area's highest point is Sandia Crest at an altitude of . According to the United States Census Bureau, Albuquerque has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.96%, is water. Albuquerque lies within the fertile Rio Grande Valley with its Bosque forest, in the center of the Albuquerque Basin, flanked on the eastern side by the Sandia Mountains and to the west by the West Mesa. Located in central New Mexico, the city also has noticeable influences from the adjacent Colorado Plateau semi-desert, New Mexico Mountains forested with juniper and pine, and Southwest plateaus and plains steppe ecoregions, depending on where one is located. Albuquerque has one of the highest and most varied elevations of any major city in the United States, though the effects of this are greatly tempered by its southwesterly continental position. The elevation of the city ranges from 4,949 feet (1,508 m) above sea level near the Rio Grande (in the Valley) to 6,165 feet (1,879 m) in the foothill areas of Sandia Heights. At the Albuquerque International Sunport, the elevation is 5,355 feet (1,632 m) above sea level. The Rio Grande is classified, like…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  63,404
• White-winged Dove

  Zenaida asiatica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  43,874
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  33,517
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  33,224
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  31,154
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  30,344
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  29,360
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  28,834

Largest nearby schools

• VOLCANO VISTA HIGH
  High · ALBUQUERQUE · 2,216 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• ATRISCO HERITAGE ACADEMY HS
  High · ALBUQUERQUE · 2,114 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• LA CUEVA HIGH
  High · ALBUQUERQUE · 1,816 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• WEST MESA HIGH
  High · ALBUQUERQUE · 1,799 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• CIBOLA HIGH
  High · ALBUQUERQUE · 1,762 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• SANDIA HIGH
  High · ALBUQUERQUE · 1,728 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• ALBUQUERQUE HIGH
  High · ALBUQUERQUE · 1,714 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• ELDORADO HIGH
  Other · ALBUQUERQUE · 1,622 students · 16.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2026-09-15
  2 km NNW of Las Nutrias, New Mexico
• M 2.7 — 2026-08-24
  11 km ESE of San Mateo, New Mexico
• M 4 — 2026-08-22
  8 km SSE of San Mateo, New Mexico
• M 3 — 2026-08-18
  16 km WSW of Pueblitos, New Mexico
• M 3 — 2026-08-18
  15 km WSW of Pueblitos, New Mexico
• M 2.8 — 2026-08-17
  15 km W of Pueblitos, New Mexico