The Red River of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, United States, is a short,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

river that flows down the north slope of Mount Wheeler in the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains The Sangre de Cristo Mountains ( Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountains run from Poncha Pass in South ...

, flows west past the towns of Red River and Questa and then south into the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio ...

just south of the La Junta Campground."Wild Rivers Recreation Area"
Sangres.com The Red River is Taos's winter fishery with prime time being from October through early April. The Red provides visitors the unique opportunity to fish and ski on the same trip. A myriad of springs flow into the river greatly increasing the flows and keeping the water temperatures in the optimum trout fishing range of between 45 and 60 degrees making the Red an ideal winter trout fishery. As the summer monsoon season comes to an end and afternoon showers begin to taper off, the river settles down and clears nicely, allowing the fun to begin. In the fall, towards the middle to end of October, larger rainbow trout begin staging in the lower reaches of the river near the confluence with the Rio Grande and start pushing up the river to spawn, creating a great opportunity for a shot at some big Browns through November as they migrate up river and back again. The Red River is noted for its trout fishery and its lower portion is part of the

Wild Rivers Recreation Area Wild Rivers Recreation Area is located in north central New Mexico within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Two rivers that run through the park, the Rio Grande and Red River are National Wild and Scenic Rivers. NM 378 that traverses t ...

. Located below Questa on the river is the New Mexico Red River Fish Hatchery. The Red River derives its water from snowmelt and summer season convective storms and due to the relatively consistent patterns of

orographic Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discip ...

precipitation it is a perennial stream.Staff (17 March 2006
"Chapter 2: Red River Watershed Background"
''Final-approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Red River Watershed'' Surface Water Quality Bureau, New Mexico Environment Department

References

Carson National Forest Rivers of New Mexico Rivers of Taos County, New Mexico Tributaries of the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States {{NewMexico-river-stub

See also

References