Los Alamos

Sister cities

• Sarov

History

The ruins of Puebloan settlements, such as those in nearby Bandelier National Monument and Tsankawi, and numerous other sites such as cliff dwellings indicate that the area has been inhabited during various eras since around 1150 AD. The first settlers on the plateau are thought to be Keres-speaking Native Americans around the 10th century. Around 1300, Tewa settlers immigrated from the Four Corners Region and built large cities but were driven out within 50 years by Navajo and Apache raids and by drought. In the late 19th century, homesteaders used the land for ranching. About 1899, a road had been blasted up one of the canyons onto the Pajarito Plateau from Buckman (on the narrow-gauge Chili Line railroad) for the harvesting of timber, which in turn made the Plateau more accessible. Homesteaders built simple log cabins that they lived in only during warm weather to feed livestock. Many of the homesteaders later moved down to the warmer Rio Grande Valley. In 1917, homesteader Harold H. Brook sold part of his land and buildings to Ashley Pond II, a businessman from Detroit who founded the Los Alamos Ranch School. The area was used to teach young men basic ranching and other outdoor survival skills. In 1943, during World War II, the United States Department of War exercised eminent domain over the Ranch School and all remaining homesteads in the area so that the relatively isolated location could be used for the secretive Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapons. Facilities for research and development were quickly built and scientists and engineers from all over the world were assigned to the project; all information about the town and project was held secret from the public. Los Alamos was referred to under the code name "Site Y" by military…

Geography

Los Alamos is in northern New Mexico, between the Rio Grande and the eastern rim of the Valles Caldera on the Pajarito Plateau, about northwest of Santa Fe. The elevation at the post office is and total land area is . The Los Alamos Townsite and White Rock are on flat mesa tops known as potreros, separated by steep canyons. This location was chosen for its relative inaccessibility to help protect the Manhattan Project's secrecy. The town of Los Alamos was built on four potreros—Barranca Mesa, North Mesa, Los Alamos Mesa, and South Mesa—along with the connecting communities at the base of the mountain. Los Alamos National Laboratory occupies half of South Mesa, Two Mile Mesa, Frijoles Mesa, Mesita de Buey, and several nearby areas in the region (in the valleys and at the base of the mountain). White Rock lies at the top of White Rock Canyon. Much of Los Alamos County is within the Española Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest. Los Alamos has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with four distinct seasons. Summer days are moderately warm in the 70s°F (20s°C), but reach 90 °F (32 °C) on only 5 days per year on average. Los Alamos's wildlife and vegetation are diverse compared to surrounding areas. "The variation in elevation creates precipitation and temperature gradients that support a wide diversity of plant communities". Ponderosa pine trees are the most common trees at the elevation of Los Alamos (). Common shrubs in the area include sagebrush, Gambel oak, and wild rose. "Over 200 species of birds have been reported" in the Pajarito Ornithological Survey conducted by LANL. Among these are broad-tailed hummingbirds, hairy woodpeckers, zone-tailed hawks, common ravens, western bluebirds, and great horned owls. burned about three times as many…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  21,227
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  17,116
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  17,031
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,267
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  12,127
• Canyon Towhee

  Melozone fusca (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  11,734
• Mountain Chickadee

  Poecile gambeli (Ridgway, 1886) · Aves
  11,124
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  10,847

Largest nearby schools

• LOS ALAMOS HIGH
  High · LOS ALAMOS · 860 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• LOS ALAMOS MIDDLE
  Middle · LOS ALAMOS · 613 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• ASPEN ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · LOS ALAMOS · 445 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · LOS ALAMOS · 421 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• BARRANCA MESA ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · LOS ALAMOS · 419 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• PINON ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · WHITE ROCK · 340 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• CHAMISA ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · WHITE ROCK · 321 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• TOPPER FRESHMAN ACADEMY
  Other · LOS ALAMOS · 305 students · 17.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2026-07-05
  17 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
• M 2.5 — 2026-07-05
  26 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
• M 2.6 — 2026-05-04
  26 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
• M 3.3 — 2026-01-30
  13 km NNW of La Cueva, New Mexico
• M 3.6 — 2025-12-15
  22 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
• M 2.9 — 2025-12-08
  11 km NNE of Gallina, New Mexico