New Mexico is a timeless land of ancient cultural traditions and striking environmental diversity. For thousands of years, man has traveled through this Land of Enchantment leaving footprints to a rich and colorful past. Some of the earliest known inhabitants included the folsom Paleo-Indians who wandered into the area hunting animals that have been extinct for more than 10,000 years.

Indians farmed the fertile land along the Rio Grande, producing corn, beans and squash. By the end of the 13th century, the Anasazi had completely abandoned their high-walled cities in northwestern New Mexico and the rest of the Four Corners area and drifted south where, along with the farmers from the Rio Grande, they developed the sophisticated Pueblo communities.

Albuquerque, located in the Rio Grande Valley in north central New Mexico, with a population of approximately 500,000, and New Mexico's largest city, has crystal blue skies bordered by majestic colorful mountains, winter skiing, traditional architecture, magnificent sunsets, ancient petroglyphs, the biggest annual balloon festival in the world and provides the perfect backdrop for the unique cultural history and proud heritage that exists in the Land of Enchantment. The union of natural and cultural influences helped New Mexico develop a colorful and distinctive spirit that is unlike any other place you have ever been.

In 1706, Albuquerque was founded by a group of colonists who had been granted permission by King Philip of Spain to establish a new villa (city) on the banks of the Rio Grande (which means big or great river). Colonial governor Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdez named Alburquerque in honor of the Viceroy of New Spain, the 10th Duke of Alburquerque. In the early 1800's the first "r" was dropped from the official spelling.

The colonists chose a place along the river where it made a wide curve providing good irrigation for crops, a source of wood from the bosque (a forest of cottonwoods, willows and olive trees) and the nearby Sandia mountains. Originally, Albuquerque was a colonial farming village and a military outpost along the Camino Real between Chihuahua, Mexico and Santa Fe. The village was formed in the traditional Spanish pattern where a central plaza is surrounded by a church, homes and government buildings.

On May 5, 1821, (Cinco de Mayo) Mexico acquired New Mexico as part of its independence from Spain. In 1846, the territory fell under U.S. control, and Albuquerque was surrendered briefly to the South during the 1862 battle of Glorieta in the American Civil War. In 1880 the railroad came to Albuquerque, a few miles east of Old Town. The area around the depot called "New Town", now known as the downtown area, boomed quickly into Albuquerque's commercial center. With the railroad's arrival, Anglo settlers began moving here en masse. The railroad changed the ethnic and geographic structure of the city. Albuquerque was incorporated as a town in 1885. Six years later, in 1891, it was incorporated as a city. Although New Mexico was colonized nearly 25 years before the Pilgrims' arrival at Plymouth Rock, it did not achieve statehood until January 6, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 47th state. Since that time, New Mexico has experienced a whirlwind of growth and change.

Albuquerque stands with one foot in the past, one foot in the present and both eyes on the future. Home to some of the nation's finest high-tech research facilities, Sandia National Laboratory, Phillips Laboratory, and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque is leading the way in technology transfer. Civilian application of military technology has provided the spark for many an entrepreneur and led to a technological boon. Albuquerque continues to set the pace for success in the southwest as a visitor destination and a great place to live.

There are many interesting drives to the surrounding Indian pueblos from Albuquerque. For instance, a 65-mile drive to Jemez Springs covers an area that includes a Navajo trading post, a hot springs, a modern pueblo, an ancient ruin, a soda dam and many unusual rock formations.

Our state flag has a yellow field and red symbol. These are the colors of Spain, first brought to New Mexico by Spanish explorers in 1540. On New Mexico's flag we see a red sun with rays streching out from it. There are four groups of rays with four rays in each group. This is an ancient sun symbol of a Native American people called the Zia. The Zia believed that the giver of all good gave them gifts in groups of four.

These gifts are:

1. The four directions - north, east, south and west.
2. The four seasons - spring, summer, fall and winter.
3. The day - sunrise, noon, evening and night.
4. Life itself - childhood, youth, middle years and old age.
5. All of these are bound by a circle of life and love, without a beginning or end.

Albuquerque is a truly unique place to visit or live. We await you along the banks of the Rio Grande and along America's highway, old Route 66.