Southern Pueblos Forestry

About forestry service, 87002, Belen, NM, US, New Mexico

Albuquerque ( AL-bə-kurk-ee; Spanish: [alβuˈkeɾke] ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County. Founded in 1706 as La Villa de Alburquerque by Santa Fe de Nuevo México governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, and named in honor of Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 10th Duke of Alburquerque and Viceroy of New Spain, it was an outpost on El Camino Real linking Mexico City to the northernmost territories of New Spain. Located in the Albuquerque Basin, the city is flanked by the Sandia Mountains to the east and the West Mesa to the west, with the Rio Grande and bosque flowing north-to-south through the middle of the city. According to the 2020 census, Albuquerque had 564,559 residents, making it the 32nd-most populous city in the United States and the fourth-largest in the Southwest. The Albuquerque metropolitan area had 955,000 residents in 2023, and forms part of the Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Los Alamos combined statistical area, which had a population of 1,162,523. Albuquerque is a hub for technology, fine arts, and media companies. It is home to several historic landmarks, the University of New Mexico, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the Gathering of Nations, the New Mexico State Fair, and a diverse restaurant scene, which features both New Mexican and global cuisine. == 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.