SANDOVAL

county, a scenic area in north-central New Mexico, U.S. Its high, rugged northeastern section is in the Southern Rocky Mountains, topped by Redondo Peak (11,254 feet ) in the Jemez range. The Rio Grande enters in the northeast and flows southward through narrow, steep White Rock Canyon and into Lake Cochiti, which is impounded by Cochiti Dam. The river then continues across southeastern Sandoval county, which is in the Basin and Range Province; dry washes and hills mark this section, which also includes the Sandia Mountains, featuring Sandia Peak (10,678 feet ). Western Sandoval county is a semiarid section of hills, mesas, occasional high peaks, and arroyos and canyons in the Colorado Plateau; the Continental Divide crosses the county in the northwest. Within Sandoval county are Santa Fe and Cibola national forests, the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, the Jemez, Zia, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Cochiti, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, and Sandia (all Pueblo) Indian reservations, Bandelier National Monument, Sandia Crest Recreational Area, Fenton Lake State Park, Jemez State Monument, Coronado State Park and Monument, and Pajarito and Sandia ski areas. Several of the Indian ruins in Sandoval county are ancient; the villages at Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument date from the mid-13th century. The Sandia pueblo was well over two centuries old when Francisco Vzquez de Coronado's expedition arrived there in 1540. The Spanish rule that followed was often harsh, and in 1680 the Sandia pueblo became a centre of the Pueblo Revolt. The county was established in 1903 and named for a family that had lived in the region for over 300 years. Rio Rancho, a real estate development that incorporated in 1980 with 10,000 residents, more than tripled in population during the next decade; a suburb of Albuquerque, it is the site of industry, including semiconductor manufacture. The new city's growth and development was the major economic element of Sandoval county in the late 20th century. Bernalillo is the county seat. Area 3,710 square miles (9,608 square km). Pop. (1990) 63,319.