The second Rio Puerco is rather unknown to me. I have not found very much information about it and, until a few minutes ago, I could not find it on a map. Here is what I do know about it: It rises only 4 miles southeast of the first Rio Puerco that I spoke of. It is also in Santa Fe National Forest in the
Sierra Nacimiento. It is in the national forest for about one-third of its length. It flows generally in a northeast direction and empties into Abiquiu Reservoir, which was created by a dam across the Rio Chama. The Rio Chama is one of the major tributaries of the Rio Grande, so the first two "Rio Puercos" are in the same watershed, the Rio Grande watershed, even though they start on different sides of a mountain range.
This Rio Puerco is only about 45 miles long and flows past the villages of Arroyo del Agua, Coyote and Youngsville on its short journey. It also flows past a ghost town called Rio Puerco in its short journey. A detailed map I have marks it as a perennial stream for most of its length, but, that being said, I am sure the flow is small like it is in most of the rivers in New Mexico. The only major road this Rio Puerco crosses is State Highway 96, which is a major connector between U.S. Highway 84 and U.S. Highway 550. The latter highway follows the first Rio Puerco for over 20 miles.
The third Rio Puerco is commonly called "Rio Puerco of the West," but, officially, it is just "Rio Puerco."
It is west of the Continental Divide, whereas the other two rivers that share its name are east of the divide.
This Rio Puerco rises in two forks. The North Fork (the main stream) rises near Hosta Butte (elevation 8,620 feet) in central McKinley County about five miles south of Crownpoint, on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The South Fork rises in the Zuni Mountains, in Cibola National Forest near the town of McGaffey. The South Fork of the Rio Puerco is about 20 miles long. It meets the North Fork on the edge of Gallup, the county seat of McKinley County. From the head of the North Fork to the mouth of the Rio Puerco just outside Holbrook, Arizona, it is a distance, in river miles, of 132 miles. From the confluence of the two forks of the Rio Puerco of the West, the river is in a nearly straight, man-made, channel for about 10 miles. It is entrenched between the railroad tracks and Interstate 40 and 'flows' just north of downtown Gallup, the principal city on the river.This river 'flows' west and meets the Little Colorado River just outside of Holbrook, Arizona, so it is part of the Colorado River watershed.
The Rio Puerco of the West is one of the most polluted rivers in the country. For about 35 miles, from a mine on the North Fork near Church Rock, to a point a few miles inside Arizona, it has been a perennial,
or year-round, river in recent years. However, the river's year-round flow consists mostly of treated and untreated waste from uranium mines, waste from truck stops and trailer parks and repeated discharges of untreated effluent from the Gallup Sewage Treatment Plant.
On July 16, 1979; 94 million gallons of radiactive water and uranium tailings spilled into the North Fork of the Rio Puerco after breaching a nearby tailings pond. It seriously contaminated about 50 miles of the river. This contamination was on top of the other contamination that had been occurring over the years from the effluent and other types of waste. The river is considered by most people to be a dumping ground unfit for humans and animals. At least in the past few years, some "progress" has been made. Most of the time, the Rio Puerco just a dry, sandy bed again. Normally, drying up a river is not progress, but in this case, it is. The Gallup Sewage Treatment Plant still sends the occasional discharge down the riverbed, but for the most part, the only time it flows is after spring snowmelt or heavy rains. I would prefer this situation to the alternative.
The Navajo word for the river is "To Nizhoni," which means "beautiful water." But that description is no longer accurate.
The Rio Puerco of the West lends its name to Gallup's shopping mall--Rio West Mall. Interstate 40 and the railroad follow the river for most of the river's length. The legendary Route 66 once shadowed the river for nearly 100 miles.
To further add to the confusion of three rivers in New Mexico called Rio Puerco, consider this: As soon as the Rio Puerco of the West crosses the state border into Arizona, it is no longer called "Rio Puerco." Instead, it is called "Puerco River." "Puerco River" appears on all highway signs in Arizona while "Rio Puerco" appears on all highway signs in New Mexico. The "Rio Puerco" appellation in New Mexico is due to that state's heavy Spanish influence, even though this part of the state has a heavy Indian influence and very little Spanish influence.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
A Land Of Little Rain
The majority of McKinley County, New Mexico is either desert or semi-desert, but the entire county is extremely arid. There are no permanent streams in the county, just "part-time" streams. The principal streams in the county are: Zuni River, Rio Nutria, Rio Pescado. Rio Puerco of the West, South Fork Rio Puerco of the West, Chaco River, Sand Springs Wash, Arroyo Chico, Fajada Wash, Whitewater Arroyo, Red Willow Wash and Bread Springs Wash.
A point of clarification. There are 3 Rio Puerco's in New Mexico. The one in McKinley County is called 'Rio Puerco of the West' , but that is an unofficial name. It is officially Rio Puerco. The other 2 "Rio Puerco's" are east of the Continental Divide, this one is west of the divide. The longest river with this name is 237 miles long. It rises northeast of the little town of Cuba, NM on the west slope of San Pedro Peak in the Sierra Nacimiento in Santa Fe National Forest. It is a tumbling mountain stream in its nebulous beginnings in the
San Pedro Parks Wilderness Area. It is mostly dry throughout its length, but early Spanish explorers wrote about all of the vegetation that once lined its banks and that the line of trees along the Rio Puerco could be seen from many miles away and were a welcome respite from the parched desert through which it travels. Today, most of the trees and other vegetation have disappeared and, through most of the river's length, it has steeply eroded banks. This was caused by a lowering of the water table because of excessive groundwater pumping.The disappearance of the vegetation that once lined the river has created serious erosion problems and excessive dust problems in the vicinity of the dry riverbed. This Rio Puerco meets the Rio Grande about 50 miles south of Albuquerque. I say "meets" because the Rio Puerco rarely flows anymore. The river generally runs in a south-southeast direction, but at its beginning in the Sierra Nacimiento, it flows west.
The most famous portion of the Rio Puerco is west of Albuquerque where old U.S. Highway 66 crosses it on a very narrow bridge. The bridge is still standing and is still in good condition, but is closed to traffic. People can walk across the bridge, however.
Cuba, with about 800 people, is the biggest town on the Rio Puerco. It flows mostly through lightly populated or uninhabited areas, although it does just miss a major city, Albuquerque. When the old Route 66 bridge and also the Interstate 40 bridges nearby cross the Rio Puerco, they are only 9 miles west of the Albuquerque city limits.
I will continue talking about the other 2 Rio Puerco's in the next installment of this blog before this installment gets too long.
A point of clarification. There are 3 Rio Puerco's in New Mexico. The one in McKinley County is called 'Rio Puerco of the West' , but that is an unofficial name. It is officially Rio Puerco. The other 2 "Rio Puerco's" are east of the Continental Divide, this one is west of the divide. The longest river with this name is 237 miles long. It rises northeast of the little town of Cuba, NM on the west slope of San Pedro Peak in the Sierra Nacimiento in Santa Fe National Forest. It is a tumbling mountain stream in its nebulous beginnings in the
San Pedro Parks Wilderness Area. It is mostly dry throughout its length, but early Spanish explorers wrote about all of the vegetation that once lined its banks and that the line of trees along the Rio Puerco could be seen from many miles away and were a welcome respite from the parched desert through which it travels. Today, most of the trees and other vegetation have disappeared and, through most of the river's length, it has steeply eroded banks. This was caused by a lowering of the water table because of excessive groundwater pumping.The disappearance of the vegetation that once lined the river has created serious erosion problems and excessive dust problems in the vicinity of the dry riverbed. This Rio Puerco meets the Rio Grande about 50 miles south of Albuquerque. I say "meets" because the Rio Puerco rarely flows anymore. The river generally runs in a south-southeast direction, but at its beginning in the Sierra Nacimiento, it flows west.
The most famous portion of the Rio Puerco is west of Albuquerque where old U.S. Highway 66 crosses it on a very narrow bridge. The bridge is still standing and is still in good condition, but is closed to traffic. People can walk across the bridge, however.
Cuba, with about 800 people, is the biggest town on the Rio Puerco. It flows mostly through lightly populated or uninhabited areas, although it does just miss a major city, Albuquerque. When the old Route 66 bridge and also the Interstate 40 bridges nearby cross the Rio Puerco, they are only 9 miles west of the Albuquerque city limits.
I will continue talking about the other 2 Rio Puerco's in the next installment of this blog before this installment gets too long.
Friday, December 3, 2010
A Diverse Land
I will now "move" north up New Mexico's western border and talk about McKinley County. McKinley is the poorest county in New Mexico and one of the poorest in the United States. The county seat, Gallup, is the most demographically and culturally diverse city in New Mexico.
McKinley County is also diverse in terms of landscape. It ranges from aspen forest to spruce forest to ponderosa pine forest to juniper woodland to grassland to desert. It is also known for its stunning, red rock formations. This red rock country spills over from the more famous red rock country of southern Utah and northern Arizona. This is the eastern edge of that stunning, eroded, volcanic, red landscape. Most of the county consists of broad, desert to semi-desert valleys with a backdrop of eroded buttes and mesas. The semi-desert valleys are sprinkled with pinon and juniper trees and have a little bit more grass than the desert areas.
The average elevation of McKinley County is about 6,200 feet. The highest points in the county are all clustered near each other in the southeast corner of the county in the San Mateo Mountains. they are:
Cerro de Alejandro (8,989 feet), Cerro Redondo (8,976 feet) and Cerro Chivato(8,917 feet). While these are the highest points in the county, they are really mesas [flat-topped hills] and not really mountains, per se.
The "real" mountains in the county are the Zuni Mountains in southern part of McKinley County. Most of this range is in neighboring Cibola County. The Zuni Mountains are part of Cibola National Forest and are the most heavily forested part of McKinley County.
McKinley County is also diverse in terms of landscape. It ranges from aspen forest to spruce forest to ponderosa pine forest to juniper woodland to grassland to desert. It is also known for its stunning, red rock formations. This red rock country spills over from the more famous red rock country of southern Utah and northern Arizona. This is the eastern edge of that stunning, eroded, volcanic, red landscape. Most of the county consists of broad, desert to semi-desert valleys with a backdrop of eroded buttes and mesas. The semi-desert valleys are sprinkled with pinon and juniper trees and have a little bit more grass than the desert areas.
The average elevation of McKinley County is about 6,200 feet. The highest points in the county are all clustered near each other in the southeast corner of the county in the San Mateo Mountains. they are:
Cerro de Alejandro (8,989 feet), Cerro Redondo (8,976 feet) and Cerro Chivato(8,917 feet). While these are the highest points in the county, they are really mesas [flat-topped hills] and not really mountains, per se.
The "real" mountains in the county are the Zuni Mountains in southern part of McKinley County. Most of this range is in neighboring Cibola County. The Zuni Mountains are part of Cibola National Forest and are the most heavily forested part of McKinley County.
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