LOS ALAMOS

city, seat (1949) of Los Alamos county, north-central New Mexico, U.S. It lies on the Pajarito Plateau (elevation 7,300 feet ) of the Jemez Mountains, 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Santa Fe. The site was named Los Alamos (Spanish for the cottonwoods) by Ashley Pond, founder of the Los Alamos Ranch School for Boys (191843). In 1942 Los Alamos was chosen by the U.S. government (because of its comparative isolation and natural facilities) as the location for the Atomic Research Laboratory then known as the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear-fission, or atomic, bomb. After World War II, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (later called Los Alamos National Laboratory) developed the first thermonuclear-fusion, or hydrogen, bomb. The laboratory, which is operated by the University of California under contract with the federal government, conducts solar and nuclear research and utilizes more than 300 buildings and a 77-square mile (199-square km) area. A modern city was built by the government to house employees of the laboratory. It was made open in 1957, and in 1962 there was a transfer of property from federal to private ownership. The city has a science museum and a history museum. Bandelier National Monument, site of Anasazi ruins, is nearby. Los Alamos was incorporated with a consolidated city-county government in 1969. Pop. (1990) 11,455. county, north central New Mexico, U.S. It is a scenic area in the Jemez range of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The Santa Fe National Forest covers the county. The first white settlers arrived in the 1880s, and the county, named for its seat, was established out of parts of Santa Fe and Sandoval counties in 1949; in 1969 the Los Alamos county and city governments were integrated into one government. In land area Los Alamos is the smallest county in New Mexico. The U.S. government owns more than 90 percent of the land, on which nuclear research facilities are located, and nearly 65 percent of the jobs in the county are with the federal government. Area 109 square miles (283 square km). Pop. (1990) 18,115.