Albuquerque, abbreviated as ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its 1706 founding by Nuevo México governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés as La Villa de Alburquerque. Named in honor of the Viceroy of New Spain, the 10th Duke of Alburquerque, the city was an outpost on El Camino Real linking Mexico City to the northernmost territories of New Spain. The 2020 census found the population of the city to be 564,559, making Albuquerque the 32nd-most populous city in the United States and the fourth-largest in the Southwest. It is the principal city of the Albuquerque metropolitan area, which had 916,528 residents as of July 2020, and it is part of the Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Las Vegas combined statistical area which had a population of 1,162,523 as of January 2020. Located in the Albuquerque Basin, the city is flanked by the Sandia Mountains to the east and the West Mesa to the west, with the Rio Grande and bosque flowing from north-to-south. The city is a hub for technology and media companies, historic landmarks, the University of New Mexico, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the Gathering of Nations, the New Mexico State Fair, as well as a diverse restaurant scene featuring both New Mexican cuisine and cuisines from around the world. The Albuquerque flag reverses the colors of the New Mexico flag, with yellow elements on a red field. The central element on both flags is the Zia sun symbol, which represents the spiritual importance of the sun and the sacred number four in the culture of the Zia people. The rays of the Zia symbol represent the four cardinal directions, four seasons, four times of the day, and four stages of life. The center of the Zia symbol bears the year of the city’s founding, 1706, and the name “Albuquerque” is printed underneath in a Spanish gothic script. In the upper hoist is a stylized bird symbol, consisting of a streamlined bomb superimposed over and perpendicular to a crescent moon, “acknowledging Albuquerque’s contributions to the nuclear-and-space age.” 4K Resolution.