Sandia means "watermelon" in Spanish. The mountains east of Albuquerque, N.M., are called the Sandia Mountains because they take on a color similar to the inside of a watermelon late on sunny days. Sandia was originally exclusively located on Albuquerque's Sandia Base, which later merged with adjacent Kirtland Air Force Base. Sandia took a plural name, Sandia Laboratories, in 1956 after establishing another major facility in Livermore, Calif. Sandia National Laboratories became the official name in 1979 after Sandia was designated one of the Department of Energy's unique national labs.