city, seat (1981) of Cibola county, west-central New Mexico, U.S., on the San Jose River. The site of a skirmish between Navajo and Comanche Indians in the early 19th century, the town was established in 1881 when the Grant brothers, contractors building the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, located a construction camp at what became known as Grants Station. Originally a livestock shipping point, it was later supported by lumbering and vegetable farming. Uranium ore was discovered in the nearby Ambrosia Lake district in 1950, and the mining, milling, and processing of the ore now comprise the major industry.

The area contains considerable uranium reserves. Ancient Indian pottery has been found beneath local lava beds that flowed centuries ago from Mount Taylor to the northeast. Parts of the Cibola National Forest and the Acoma Indian Reservation are tourist attractions. A branch of New Mexico State University is in the city. Inc. 1941. Pop. (1990) 8,626; (2000) 8,806.