Santa Fe

Sister cities

• Icheon
• Bukhara
• Livingstone
• Tsuyama
• Hidalgo del Parral
• San Miguel de Allende
• Santa Fe
• Los Palacios y Villafranca
• Holguin
• Zhangjiajie
• Sorrento

History

Before European colonization of the Americas, between AD 900 and the 1500s, the area around present-day Santa Fe was known to the Tewa peoples as (, , one of a number of places named for their water access) and by the Navajo people as ("bead" + "water place"). In 1598, Juan de Oñate established the area as , a province of New Spain. The area of Santa Fe was originally occupied by indigenous Tanoan peoples, who lived in numerous Pueblo villages along the Rio Grande. One of the earliest known settlements in what is known as downtown Santa Fe today came sometime after 900 AD. A group of native Tewa built a cluster of homes that centered around the site of today's Plaza and spread for to the south and west; the village was called in Tewa. The Tanoans and other Pueblo peoples settled along the Santa Fe River from the mid-11th to mid-12th centuries, but had abandoned the site for at least 200 years by the time Spanish arrived in the early 17th century. Don Juan de Oñate led the first Spanish effort to colonize the region in 1598, establishing Santa Fe de Nuevo México as a province of New Spain. Under Juan de Oñate and his son, the capital of the province was the settlement of San Juan de los Caballeros north of Santa Fe near modern Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. Juan de Oñate was banished and exiled from New Mexico by the Spanish, after his rule was deemed cruel towards the indigenous population. New Mexico's second Spanish governor, Don Pedro de Peralta, however, founded a new city at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in 1607, which he called La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís, the Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi. In 1610, he designated it as the capital of the province, which it has almost constantly remained, making…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Santa Fe has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.21%, is covered by water; much of the liquid surface consists of the Santa Fe River and the arroyos of Santa Fe, which drain the region to the Rio Grande at Cochiti Dam. Located at above sea level, Santa Fe is the highest state capital in the United States. Santa Fe's climate is characterized by cool, dry winters, hot summers, and relatively low precipitation. According to the Köppen climate classification, the city has a cold semi-arid climate (BSk), common at 35°N. The 24-hour average temperature in the city ranges from in December to in July. Due to the relative aridity and elevation, average diurnal temperature variation exceeds in every month, and much of the year. The city usually receives six to eight snowfalls a year between November and April with snowfall being most prevalent in December with . The heaviest rainfall occurs in July and August, with the arrival of the North American Monsoon. Rainfall is lowest in February with and at its most in July with .

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  30,308
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  20,740
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  20,609
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  17,620
• Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma woodhouseii (S.F.Baird, 1858) · Aves
  14,179
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,887
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  13,874
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,254

Largest nearby schools

• SANTA FE HIGH
  High · SANTA FE · 1,599 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• NEW MEXICO CONNECTIONS ACADEMY
  Other · SANTA FE · 1,401 students · 21.6:1 ratio
• CAPITAL HIGH
  High · SANTA FE · 1,398 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• EL CAMINO REAL ACADEMY COMMUNITY
  Elementary · SANTA FE · 778 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• NINA OTERO COMMUNITY SCHOOL
  Elementary · SANTA FE · 682 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• TURQUOISE TRAIL CHARTER SCHOOL
  Elementary · SANTA FE · 677 students · 15:1 ratio
• PINON ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · SANTA FE · 545 students · 16:1 ratio
• EDWARD ORTIZ MIDDLE
  Middle · SANTA FE · 441 students · 11:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2026-01-30
  13 km NNW of La Cueva, New Mexico
• M 2.9 — 2025-04-07
  3 km WSW of Peña Blanca, New Mexico
• M 3.2 — 2024-09-10
  8 km WSW of Paradise Hills, New Mexico
• M 3.5 — 2024-09-10
  7 km WNW of Paradise Hills, New Mexico
• M 2.9 — 2024-09-01
  7 km ENE of Capulin, New Mexico
• M 2.8 — 2023-12-23
  7 km ESE of Cuba, New Mexico