About Albuquerque

Albuquerque (/lbkrki/ (listen) AL-b-kur-kee; Navajo: Beeeldl Dahsinil [pltl txsnl]; Eastern Keres: Arawageeki; Jemez: Vakke; Zuni: Alo:ke:k'ya; Jicarilla Apache: Gogeki'y), also known locally as Duke City and abbreviated as ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the 32nd-most populous city in the United States, with a census-estimated population of 558,545 in 2017. It is the principal city of the Albuquerque metropolitan area, which has 915,927 residents as of July 2018. Albuquerque's Metropolitan statistical area is the 60th-largest in the United States. The Albuquerque MSA population includes the cities of Rio Rancho, Bernalillo, Placitas, Corrales, Los Lunas, Belen, and Bosque Farms, and forms part of the larger Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas combined statistical area, with a total population of 1,171,991 in 2016.

The city was named in honor of Francisco Fernndez de la Cueva, 10th Duke of Alburquerque, who was Viceroy of New Spain from 1702 to 1711. The growing village was named by provincial governor Francisco Cuervo y Valds. The Duke's title referred to the Spanish town of Alburquerque, in the province of Badajoz, near the border with Portugal.

Albuquerque serves as the county seat of Bernalillo County, and is in north-central New Mexico. The Sandia Mountains run along the eastern side of Albuquerque, and the Rio Grande flows through the city. Albuquerque has one of the highest elevations of any major city in the U.S., ranging from 4,900feet(1,490m) above sea level near the Rio Grande to over 6,700feet(1,950m) in the foothill areas of Sandia Heights and Glenwood Hills.
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