Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe (/ˌsæntə ˈfeɪ, ˈsæntə feɪ/ SAN-tə FAY, - fay; Spanish: [santaˈfe]) is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. With a population of 87,505 at the 2020 census, it is the fourth-most populous city in the state.[5] It is also the county seat of Santa Fe County. Its metropolitan area is part of the Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Los Alamos combined statistical area, which had a population of 1,162,523 in 2020. Human settlement dates back thousands of years in the region.[6] The city was founded in 1610 as the capital of Nuevo México, replacing previous capitals at San Juan de los Caballeros and San Gabriel de Yunque;[7] this makes it the oldest state capital in the United States.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís
United States
1610
Alan Webber (D)
52.34 sq mi (135.57 km2)
52.23 sq mi (135.28 km2)
0.11 sq mi (0.29 km2)
6,998 ft (2,133 m)
87,505
1,675.28/sq mi (646.83/km2)
154,823 (Santa Fe MSA)
1,162,523 (Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Los Alamos CSA)
Santa Fean; Santafesino, -na
35-70500
936823[3]
Albuquerque International Sunport
ABQ (Major/International)
Santa Fe Regional Airport-
KSAF (Public)
It is also at the highest altitude of any of the U.S. state capitals, with an elevation of 7,199 feet (2,194 m).[8] The city's name means "Holy Faith" in Spanish, and is an abbreviation of La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís ("the Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi").[9][10]
Santa Fe is widely considered one of the country's great art cities,[11][12] due to its many art galleries and installations, and it is recognized by UNESCO's Creative Cities Network. Its cultural highlights include Santa Fe Plaza, the Palace of the Governors, the Fiesta de Santa Fe, numerous restaurants featuring distinctive New Mexican cuisine, and performances of New Mexico music. Among its many art galleries and installations are the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, a gallery by cartoonist Chuck Jones, and newer art collectives such as Meow Wolf. The cityscape is known for its adobe-style Pueblo Revival and Territorial Revival architecture.[13]
Etymology[edit]
Before European colonization of the Americas, the area Santa Fe occupied between 900 CE and the 1500s was known to the Tewa peoples as Oghá P'o'oge[a] ("white shell water place", one of a number of places named for their water access)[15] and by the Navajo people as Yootó ("bead" + "water place").
In 1598, Juan de Oñate established the area as Santa Fe de Nuevo México, a province of New Spain.[15] Formal Spanish settlements were developed leading the colonial governor Pedro de Peralta to rename the area La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís ("the Royal Town of the Holy Faith of Saint Francis of Assisi").[15]
Sports[edit]
The New Mexico Style were an American Basketball Association franchise founded in 2005, but reformed in Texas for the 2007–08 season as the El Paso S'ol (which folded without playing an ABA game in their new city). The Santa Fe Roadrunners were a North American Hockey League team, but moved to Kansas to become the Topeka Roadrunners. Santa Fe's rodeo, the Rodeo De Santa Fe, is held annually the last week of June.[64] In May 2012, Santa Fe became the home of the Santa Fe Fuego of the Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs. They play their home games at Fort Marcy Ballfield. Horse racing events were held at The Downs at Santa Fe from 1971 until 1997.
Public schools in Santa Fe are operated by Santa Fe Public Schools, with the exception of the New Mexico School for the Arts, which is a public/private partnership comprising the NMSA-Art Institute, a nonprofit art educational institution, and NMSA-Charter School, an accredited New Mexico state charter high school.
Santa Fe has three public high schools:
The city's institutions of higher education include St. John's College, a liberal arts college; the Institute of American Indian Arts, a tribal college for Native American arts; Southwestern College, a graduate school for counseling and art therapy; and Santa Fe Community College.
The city has six private college preparatory high schools: Santa Fe Waldorf School,[72] St. Michael's High School, Desert Academy,[73] New Mexico School for the Deaf, Santa Fe Secondary School, Santa Fe Preparatory School, and the Mandela International Magnet School. The Santa Fe Indian School is an off-reservation school for Native Americans. Santa Fe is also the location of the New Mexico School for the Arts, a public-private partnership, arts-focused high school. The city has many private elementary schools as well, including Little Earth School,[74] Santa Fe International Elementary School,[75] Rio Grande School, Desert Montessori School,[76] La Mariposa Montessori, The Tara School, Fayette Street Academy, The Santa Fe Girls' School, The Academy for the Love of Learning, and Santa Fe School for the Arts and Sciences.
Transportation[edit]
Air[edit]
Santa Fe is served by the Santa Fe Municipal Airport. American Airlines provides regional jet service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. United Airlines has regional jet service to Denver International Airport.
