Los Alamos, New Mexico

Los Alamos is a Spanish place name that typically refers to poplar or cottonwood trees. Alternatively, Los Alamos could refer to the large groves of aspen trees (alamo temblon) that intersperse the coniferous forest on the mountainsides above the townsite, where they are distinctly visible during the autumn months due to their spectacular autumn colors.[5][6]

Los Alamos has a humid continental climate (Dfb)[7][8] with four distinct seasons. Summer days are moderately warm in the 70s and 80s, but reach 90 on only 5 days per year on average.

Los Alamos' geographical location causes its wildlife and vegetation to be diverse compared to surrounding areas in the state. "The variation in elevation creates precipitation and temperature gradients that support a wide diversity of plant communities..."[11] There are six different plant communities within the county; each is home to unique flora and fauna.[11] Ponderosa pine trees are the most common trees at the elevation of Los Alamos (7,000 and 8,000 feet (2,100 and 2,400 m)). Common shrubs in the area include sagebrush, Gambel oak, and wild rose.[11]

Black bears (brown-color variation), elk, mule deer, bobcats, gray foxes, skunks and chipmunks are examples of mammals living in the area.[12] "Over 200 species of birds have been reported" in the Pajarito Ornithological Survey conducted by LANL.[13] Among these are broad-tailed hummingbirds, hairy woodpeckers, zone-tailed hawks, common ravens, western bluebirds, and great horned owls.[13]

Wildfires have affected the county, but the most destructive to the townsite was the Cerro Grande Fire of May 2000, which caused an estimated $1 billion in damages and destroyed more than 400 homes. The town was evacuated for eight days. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) built temporary housing on North Mesa for those who were displaced by the fire. Though there was no loss of life, other effects include damage to LANL facilities (nuclear material was not affected), flash-flooding, and erosion.

Aftermath of the Cerro Grande Fire of 2000

The Las Conchas Fire of June 26, 2011[14] burned about three times as many acres and also prompted evacuation of Los Alamos, but there was no damage to property in Los Alamos.[15] It was the biggest wildfire New Mexico had endured.[14]

Wildfires have altered plant communities in the area. Plant species are migrating to cover burn areas.

Over two thousand sites in the area have been determined to have been impacted as a result of past activities at LANL. The location of these sites have been identified throughout the county, and are primarily (but not exclusively) on DOE property. Contaminated sites vary widely in significance. Corrective action and environmental restoration has been deemed necessary for certain areas; LANL takes part in this process.[21] Some residents have voiced concern about a lack of public participation and opportunity to comment on the clean-up schedule and funding.[22]

Los Alamos is demographically unique compared to its surrounding counties and the state as a whole. Over 35% of the population of surrounding counties (Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Sandoval) and the state of New Mexico are Hispanic or Latino, while only about 15% of Los Alamosans are Hispanic or Latino. The white and especially the Asian populations of Los Alamos are significantly higher than the rest of New Mexico.[23]

See also Category:Manhattan Project people

• Harold Agnew, physicist and third director of Los Alamos National Laboratory (1970-1979)
• Luis Alvarez, nuclear physicist
• Robert Bacher, nuclear physicist
• Hans Bethe, German-American nuclear physicist, awarded 1967 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Norris Bradbury, physicist and second director of Los Alamos National Laboratory (1945-1970). He remained in Los Alamos for the rest of his life.
• James Chadwick, British physicist and recipient of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of the neutron.
• Charles Critchfield, mathematical physicist. Returned to Los Alamos in 1961 and remained there for the rest of his life.
• Harry Daghlian, physicist, died from radiation poisoning at Los Alamos in September 1945.
• Enrico Fermi, Italian-American theoretical and experimental physicist, has been called “architect of the nuclear age.”
• Val Fitch, nuclear physicist and recipient of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physics.
• Richard Feynman, theoretical physicist, awarded 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with Sin-Itiro Tomonaga and Julian Schwinger[25]
• Klaus Fuchs, German theoretical physicist and later atomic spy who supplied information to the Soviet Union.
• George Kistiakowsky, chemist and designer of shaped implosive charges. He was also an avid skier who used implosive rings to fell trees for development of the Sawyer’s Hill ski area near Los Alamos.
• Joseph Laws McKibben, physicist and engineer; designer of the air muscle. Remained in Los Alamos for the rest of his life.
• Edwin McMillan, physicist and recipient of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• J. Robert Oppenheimer, theoretical physicist and first director of the Los Alamos Laboratory.
• Deak Parsons, Navy Captain (later Rear Admiral); Robert Oppenheimer’s second in command.
• Frederick Reines, theoretical physicist, awarded 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Bruno Rossi, Italian-American experimental physicist, who developed diagnostic instruments for development of the atomic bomb.
• Emilio Segre, Italian physicist and recipient of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics.
• Louis Slotin, physicist and chemist; died from radiation poisoning at Los Alamos in September 1945.
• Edward Teller, Hungarian-American theoretical physicist sometimes called “father of the hydrogen bomb.”
• James L. Tuck, British physicist specializing in shaped charges. Returned to Los Alamos 1949-1972, researching thermonuclear fusion for power generation, for which he developed the Perhapsatron
• Stanislaw Ulam, Polish-American mathematician. Remained a consultant with LANL for many years after the Manhattan Project, with a home in nearby Santa Fe for the rest of his life.
• Robert R. Wilson, physicist and a developer of the cyclotron.

• George Irving Bell, physicist, biophysicist, mountaineer—worked at Los Alamos
• Irene Beyerlein, materials scientist, born in Los Alamos, and J. R. Oppenheimer Fellow at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Sterling Foster Black, lawyer and state senator.
• Judy Blume, author of many books for children and adults, lived in Los Alamos from 1975 to 1978 and set her novel Tiger Eyes there
• Clayborne Carson, civil rights activist and professor of history at Stanford University, grew up in Los Alamos
• Susann Cokal, award-winning writer, attended junior and senior high school in Los Alamos
• Stirling Colgate, physicist, worked at Los Alamos, member of the last graduating class from the Los Alamos Ranch School
• Michael Creutz, physicist, born in Los Alamos
• Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, former president of Croatia (2015-2020); graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1986
• Brooke Green, member of the Idaho House of Representatives
• Michelle Lujan Grisham, current governor of New Mexico and former U.S. congresswoman, born in Los Alamos
• Ed Grothus, machinist and technician at LANL, later peace and anti-nuclear activist and proprietor of the Los Alamos Sales Company, known as "The Black Hole"
• Kevin R. Johnson, chief executive officer (CEO) of Starbucks Coffee Company; graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1978

The geography of Los Alamos lends itself to several sports and recreational activities. There is an extensive system of trails within the canyons and into the mountains above the town, catering to all skill levels of running, hiking and mountain biking. The Aquatic Center is an indoor, Olympic-length public swimming pool (soon to be joined by a lazy river), and a public 18-hole golf course (par 72, 6500 yards) has existed since 1947.

Winter sports include skiing at the community-owned Pajarito Mountain Ski Area on 10,440 ft. Pajarito Mountain[26] between November and April. The County maintains New Mexico's only refrigerated, NHL regulation, outdoor ice skating rink on the sun-shaded floor of Los Alamos Canyon, almost beneath the Omega Bridge. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are possible at Valles Caldera National Preserve and other locations, weather permitting.

Los Alamos is host to several sporting events:

• Tour de Los Alamos (road cycling race)
• Run the Caldera Marathon
• Pajarito Punishment (mountain-biking race)
• Los Alamos Triathlon (Los Alamos Junior Triathlon)
• Jemez Mountain Trail Run

On November 10, 2015, the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Energy announced the establishment of Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Los Alamos, along with units in Hanford, Washington and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The median household income in Los Alamos is $98,458, and per capita income is $54,067. Income is significantly higher than the rest of New Mexico.[23] Los Alamos has the highest millionaire concentration of any US city, with 12.4 percent of households having at least $1 million in assets.[29] This is a result of chemists, engineers, and physicists working at LANL since the Manhattan Project.[30] Only 6.6% of people are below the poverty line; one-third the rate of New Mexico.[23] As of January 2015, there were zero homeless individuals.[31]

There are 5,249 households and an average household size of 2.23 people. There are 5,863 housing units, and the median value of owner-occupied housing units is $281,500. Median gross rent is $921.[23]

31.4% of households have children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% are married couples living together, 6.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% are non-families. 29.8% of all households are made up of individuals, and 7.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is the area's largest employer with approximately 10,500 employees, and is foundational to the economy of Los Alamos, with an annual budget of about $2.45 billion. Approximately 40% of the laboratory's employees live in Los Alamos, while the remainder commute from Santa Fe, Española, Taos, and Albuquerque. About 66% of the people who work in the national laboratories commute daily to the lab; some take the Atomic City Transit, Rail Runner Express, use the Park and Ride, or carpool with other employees.[32]

Other major employers in Los Alamos include Smith's Food and Drug, Los Alamos National Bank, Los Alamos Medical Center, Los Alamos County, Los Alamos Public Schools, and Del Norte Credit Union.[33]

Los Alamos is relatively isolated, and can only be accessed from NM 4 from the south and NM 502 from the east.

NM 502 sees significantly more traffic because it connects with US 84/285, which delivers access to several Pueblo communities between Española and Santa Fe. Approximately 10,000 commuters use NM 502 daily. NM 502 begins at Pojoaque, and traverses San Ildefonso Pueblo and the Rio Grande.

Interstate 25 is the nearest major interstate highway, and passes through or near Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Denver.

There are three access roads between White Rock and Los Alamos—Main Hill Road, Jemez Road and Pajarito Road. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, Pajarito Road has been restricted to LANL badge holders for security reasons.

• Atomic City Transit
• New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) Park-and-Ride
• New Mexico Rail Runner Express, from its nearest station at Santa Fe.

Los Alamos County Airport, located on the eastern edge of Los Alamos, is the only airport in the county. The main source of activity is from small private aircraft, with intermittent commercial commuter service.

Albuquerque International Sunport is a 100 mile drive south of Los Alamos, and serves most national destinations.

Los Alamos maintains sister city status with:

• Sarov (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia)

In June 2016 a collaboration was initiated between the County of Los Alamos, the Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation and the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Feynman Center for Innovation and Community Relations and Partnerships Office, to open a private, non-profit coworking space called ProjectY cowork Los Alamos,[40] which helped create educational programs for the two cities to learn more about each other's culture and communities.[41]