On a 365ft/112m high mesa southwest of Albuquerque are the remains of what is thought to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States, securely dated on archeological evidence to 1150 but quite probably occupied since the beginning of the Christian era. Beside the pueblo Spanish Franciscans established the mission of San
Esteban del Rey in 1629.
The Acoma Pueblo, also known as Sky City, is one of 19 such settlements in New Mexico. The word Acoma means "people of the white rock".