Map of Carnuel CDP

Carnuel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,232 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. Robert Julyan theorizes that name of the community, which has been spelled both Carnuel and Carnué, derives from the Tiwa word for “badger place.”

Carnuel CDP overview:
Name:	Carnuel CDP
LSAD Code:	57
LSAD Description:	CDP (suffix)
State:	New Mexico
County:	Bernalillo County
Elevation:	5,860 ft (1,786 m)
Total Area:	5.35 sq mi (13.85 km²)
Land Area:	5.32 sq mi (13.77 km²)
Water Area:	0.03 sq mi (0.08 km²)
Total Population:	1,019
Population Density:	191.61/sq mi (73.98/km²)
Area code:	505
FIPS code:	3512430
GNISfeature ID:	0936868

Online Interactive Map

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Carnuel online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Carnuel location map. Where is Carnuel CDP?

Carnuel location on the U.S. Map. Where is Carnuel CDP. — Carnuel location on the U.S. Map.

Carnuel location on the New Mexico map. Where is Carnuel CDP. — Location of Carnuel in New Mexico.

History

Carnuel (full name San Miguel de Loredo de Carnué) is 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the original center of the city of Albuquerque. The town was created in 1763 to defend Albuquerque from the raids of Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache American Indians. The town is located at the mouth of Tijeras Canyon, a strategic and natural corridor between the hostile Indians of the Great Plains and the Spanish settlements of the Rio Grande valley. Nineteen men some with families, comprised the first settlers at Carnuel. They were mostly from the lower castas of Spanish society, “coyotes” (mixed race Indians and Spanish) and genízaros (Indians who lived among the Spanish and had adopted some elements of Hispanic culture). For the coyotes and genízaros the attraction to settle at Carnuel and other genízaro settlements was the opportunity to own land through a land grant from the New Mexican government.

Apache raiders killed several people in the area and the survivors abandoned the settlement in 1771. Carnuel was resettled in 1819 by descendants of the original settlers plus additional landless mestizos. Twenty-two families were given land at Carnuel and another 22 received land at San Antonio, a community about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Carnuel. By that time New Mexico had made peace with the Comanche and the threat to the eastern frontiers of the colony had decreased, making the settlement feasible. The genízaro heritage continued to influence land and water usage rights in the Carnuel land grant into the 21st century. Also within the original area of the land grant are the village of Tijeras and Cedar Crest CDP (census designated place).

Carnuel Road Map

Carnuel city Satellite Map

Geography

Carnuel is located at 35°4′2″N 106°26′56″W / 35.06722°N 106.44889°W / 35.06722; -106.44889 (35.067181, -106.448823). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.42 square miles (14.05 km), of which 0.031 square miles (0.08 km), or 0.56%, is water.