Los Alamos, city, seat of Los Alamos County, central New Mexico, on Pajarito Plateau overlooking the Río Grande Valley; incorporated 1968. Principally a research center, the city is the site of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos is also the site of a junior college, the Bradbury Science Museum, and the Fuller Lodge Art Center, which includes the Los Alamos Historical Museum, an arts center, and a performing arts facility. Bandelier National Monument and Jemez State Monument, both featuring Native American Pueblo ruins, are nearby. During World War II the site was chosen by the U.S. government for nuclear weapon research, and the first atomic bomb was developed here. The community subsequently was under the control of the Atomic Energy Commission from 1947 until 1962, when it became self-governing; during this period the first hydrogen bomb was designed here. The city's name is Spanish for “the poplars.” Population 11,039 (1980); 11,455 (1990); 11,420 (1996 estimate).
