Albuquerque

Albuquerque, also known as ABQ, Burque, and the Duke City, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Founded in 1706 as La Villa de Alburquerque by Nuevo México governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, and named in honor of the Viceroy of New Spain, the 10th Duke of Alburquerque, it served as an outpost on El Camino Real linking Mexico City to the northernmost territories of New Spain. In 2006 the city celebrated its 300th anniversary.

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 2023 census, Albuquerque had 572,864 residents, making it the 32nd-most populous city in the United States and the fourth largest in the Southwest.