Farmington

Aztec Ruins National Monument

Farmington, city, San Juan county, northwestern New Mexico, U.S. It lies at the confluence of the San Juan, Animas, and La Plata rivers. Settled in 1876, when Indian lands were opened to homesteaders, it became a small farming community and distribution point for the nearby Ute Mountain and Navaho Indian reservations. Farmington’s growth was stimulated by the discovery of coal, oil, and natural gas in the 1950s, and the construction of Navajo Dam and petroleum-processing plants influenced light-industrial development. Aztec Ruins National Monument is 14 miles (23 km) northeast, and the Salmon (Pueblo) Ruins are 12 miles (19 km) east. Inc. 1901. Pop. (2000) 37,844; Farmington Metro Area, 113,801; (2010) 45,877; Farmington Metro Area, 130,044.