About this city
Also known as: The Tech Town
Socorro is an historic, science-driven city situated in Socorro County along the fertile valley of the Rio Grande in central New Mexico, framed by the stark, volcanic cliffs of the Socorro Mountains. Founded in 1615 by Spanish explorers who named it 'Socorro' (meaning Help/Succor) after local Piro natives provided them with vital food, the town became a roaring mining center for silver and lead in the late 19th century. Today, it has evolved into a major intellectual and high-tech research hub, anchored by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech). Socorro blends an old-world colonial plaza vibe with cutting-edge astrophysics, sitting just east of the monumental Very Large Array radio telescope and directly north of world-class migratory bird sanctuaries.
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Practical Tourism Metadata
Suggested stay: 1–2 days
View the massive, iconic dish antennas at the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), photograph tens of thousands of wintering sandhill cranes and snow geese at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, tour the 1820s San Miguel de Socorro Catholic Church, and visit the Mineral Museum.
