Editing Albuquerque, New Mexico (section)

===Landforms and drainage===
Albuquerque has one of the highest and most varied elevations of any major city in the United States, though the effects of this are greatly tempered by its southwesterly continental position.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=Specifically for effect of southwestern continental position.}} The elevation of the city ranges from <span style="white-space:nowrap">4,949&nbsp;feet&nbsp;(1,508&nbsp;m)</span> [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]] near the Rio Grande<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rio Grande at Albuquerque, NM - USGS Water Data for the Nation |url=https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/08330000/all-graphs/#period=P7D |access-date=June 19, 2024 |website=waterdata.usgs.gov |archive-date=June 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619162242/https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/08330000/all-graphs/#period=P7D |url-status=live }}</ref> (in the Valley) to <span style="white-space:nowrap">6,165&nbsp;feet&nbsp;(1,879&nbsp;m)</span> in the foothill areas of [[Sandia Heights, New Mexico|Sandia Heights]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Geographic Names Information System |url=https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/gaz-record/2584202 |access-date=June 19, 2024 |website=edits.nationalmap.gov |archive-date=June 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619162241/https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/gaz-record/2584202 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the [[Albuquerque International Sunport]], the elevation is <span style="white-space:nowrap">5,355&nbsp;feet&nbsp;(1,632&nbsp;m)</span> above sea level.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facts & Figures |url=https://www.abqsunport.com/facts-figures/#:~:text=sunport%20facilities&text=ABQ's%20elevation%20is%205%2C355%20feet,106%20degrees%2C%2037%20minutes%20West. |access-date=June 19, 2024 |website=Albuquerque International Sunport |archive-date=June 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619162251/https://www.abqsunport.com/facts-figures/#:~:text=sunport%20facilities&text=ABQ's%20elevation%20is%205%2C355%20feet,106%20degrees%2C%2037%20minutes%20West. |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Rio Grande is classified, like the [[Nile]], as an "exotic" river. The New Mexico portion of the Rio Grande lies within the [[Rio Grande Rift]] Valley, bordered by a system of [[fault (geology)|fault]]s, including those that lifted up the adjacent [[Sandia Mountains|Sandia]] and [[Manzano Mountains]], while lowering the area where the life-sustaining Rio Grande now flows.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}