Albuquerque
Albuquerque (ăl´bәkûr´´kē), city (1990 pop. 384,736), seat of Bernalillo co., W central N.Mex., on the upper Rio Grande; inc. 1890. The largest city in the state, it is the commercial, industrial, and transportation center for a rich timber, livestock, and farm area. It has lumber mills, food-processing plants, and varied industries. Kirtland Air Force Base, a special-weapons center, and Isleta pueblo (with its casino) are to the south. Sandia National Laboratories, a U.S. Dept. of Energy installation established (1949) to carry out nuclear research and weapons development and now a center for electronic and industrial research, is located at Kirtland.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, © Columbia University Press 2013
