Albuquerque
New Mexico is one of the finest visits you will ever experience. It
is a city where the views literally go on forever. From the West Side's
Petroglyph National Monument, you can see the Rio Grande meander through
the tree-lined valley. The rugged Sandias, the southernmost mountains
of the Rocky Mountain chain, tower over the city. A ride up the Sandia
Peak Tram, the world's longest single-span tramway, puts you on top
of a mountain where the view encompasses 11,000 square miles. To the
west, silhouettes of volcanoes against fiery red sunsets inspire the
soul. As darkness blankets the city, thousands upon thousands of lights
twinkle like tiny desert diamonds. Albuquerque is a city full of exciting
attractions and events, from Old Town, where Albuquerque was founded
in 1706, to the Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. It's
been called the most ulturally-diverse city in the country!
History of Albuquerque: Albuquerque is the largest city in New
Mexico and the seat of Bernalillo County. It is situated in west central
New Mexico on the upper Rio Grande River. Early Spanish settlers arrived
there in the mid-1600s. The old town was founded in 1706 by Don Francisco
Cuervo y Valdés, the governor of New Mexico, and named after the Duke
of Albuquerque, the viceroy of New Spain. During the Civil War, Confederate
forces briefly occupied the city in 1862. The new town section was founded
in 1880. In 1883, Albuquerque became the county seat and was incorporated
as a city in 1891. The city is noted as a center for health and medical
services in the region, and government agencies, nuclear research, banking,
and tourism - Albuquerque hotels and restaurants are first rate - are
important to the economy. There is a growing high-tech center in Albuquerque
and Intel Corp.'s largest manufacturing facility is located here.
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