Editing Albuquerque, New Mexico (section)

===Geology and ecology===

{{main|Albuquerque Basin}}
Albuquerque lies in the [[Albuquerque Basin]], a portion of the [[Rio Grande rift]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/water/projects/Albuquerque_basin.html |title=Albuquerque Basin |publisher=The New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources |access-date=September 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107124156/http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/water/projects/Albuquerque_basin.html |archive-date=November 7, 2012 }}</ref>
The [[Sandia Mountains]] are the predominant geographic feature visible in Albuquerque. ''Sandía'' is Spanish for "[[watermelon]]", and is popularly believed to be a reference to the brilliant pink and green coloration of the mountains at sunset. The pink is due to large exposures of [[granodiorite]] cliffs, and the green is due to large swaths of [[conifer]] forests. However, Robert Julyan notes in ''The Place Names of New Mexico'', "the most likely explanation is the one believed by the [[Sandia Pueblo]] Indians: the Spaniards, when they encountered the Pueblo in 1540, called it Sandia, because they thought the squash growing there were watermelons, and the name Sandia soon was transferred to the mountains east of the pueblo."<ref name="julyan">Robert Julyan, ''The Place Names of New Mexico'' (revised edition), UNM Press, 1998.</ref> He also notes that the Sandia Pueblo Indians call the mountain ''Bien Mur'', "Big Mountain."<ref name="julyan"/>

Albuquerque lies at the northern edge of the [[Chihuahuan Desert]] transitioning into the [[Colorado Plateau]]. The Sandia Mountains represent the northern edge of the [[Arizona/New Mexico Mountains ecoregion]].

The environments of Albuquerque include the Rio Grande [[bosque]], (floodplain cottonwood forest), arid scrub, and mesas that turn into the Sandia foothills in the east. The Rio Grande's bosque has been significantly reduced and its natural flood cycle disrupted by dams built further upstream. A corridor of bosque surrounding the river within the city has been preserved as [[Rio Grande Valley State Park]].

[[File:South Diversion Channel, Albuquerque.jpg|thumb|The South Diversion Channel]]

A few remaining natural [[Arroyo (watercourse)|arroyo]]s provide [[riparian]] habitat within the city, though natural arroyos draining into the Rio Grande have largely been replaced with concrete channels. After a series of floods in the 1950s, passage of the "Arroyo Flood Control Act of 1963" provided for the construction of a series of concrete diversion channels.<ref name="AMAFCA">{{cite book |last=Swinburne |first=Bernard H. |title=Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority |date=July 1974 |publisher=Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority |location=Albuquerque |pages=6–8 |url=https://amafca.org/documents/AMAFCABrochureweb.pdf |access-date=October 1, 2024 |archive-date=October 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001005353/https://amafca.org/documents/AMAFCABrochureweb.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The network of channels was built by the Army Corps of Engineers during the 1960s and early 1970s.<ref name="AMAFCA" />

Iconic urban wildlife includes the [[Greater roadrunner|roadrunner]], [[Gunnison's prairie dog]], [[coyote]], and [[New Mexico whiptail]] lizard. The bosque is a popular destination for wildlife viewing, with opportunities to see [[North American porcupine|porcupines]] and [[sandhill crane]]s in the winter.<ref>{{cite web |title=City of Albuquerque Critters |url=https://www.cabq.gov/parksandrecreation/open-space/city-of-albuquerque-critters |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=City of Albuquerque |archive-date=March 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320052718/https://www.cabq.gov/parksandrecreation/open-space/city-of-albuquerque-critters |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Cooper's hawks]] are common in city parks.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 6, 2019 |title=Cooper's hawk population booming in Albuquerque |url=https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/coopers-hawk-population-booming-in-albuquerque/ |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=KRQE NEWS 13 – Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos |language=en-US}}</ref>

Iconic vegetation includes the [[Populus deltoides|Rio Grande cottonwood]] in the bosque, and [[tree cholla]], [[Opuntia|prickly pear]], [[yucca]], [[Ericameria nauseosa|chamisa]], and [[oneseed juniper]] in upland areas. The foothill open space at the eastern border also features [[Sonoran scrub oak]] and [[piñon pine]]. [[Desert willow]]s are commonly planted throughout the city. [[Salsola tragus|Tumbleweeds]] are a common weed in disturbed areas, and are used by the city to make an annual holiday snowman.<ref>{{cite web |title=AMAFCA Tumbleweed Snowman |url=https://amafca.org/snowman-tumbleweed/ |access-date=March 20, 2024 |website=AMAFCA |language=en-US |archive-date=March 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320052719/https://amafca.org/snowman-tumbleweed/ |url-status=live}}</ref>