The Rio Hondo is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in southern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

which begins at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Rio Bonito and Rio Ruidoso rivers near the town of

Hondo, New Mexico Hondo is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States. It is located about thirty-five miles downstream (east) from Ruidoso Downs, where the Rio Bonito and Rio Ruidoso rivers join together to form the Rio Hondo. It ...

. The river flows eastward through the Hondo Valley in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca and

Capitan Mountains The Capitan Mountains are a mountain range in Lincoln County, in south-central New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The range is about 20 miles (32 km) long from east to west being about 6 miles (10 km) wide and were formed fr ...

, roughly paralleling the route of

U.S. Route 70 U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern United States, Southeastern, Southern Unite ...

through the towns of Picacho and

Tinnie The slang or colloquial term tinnie or tinny has a variety of meanings, generally derived from some association with the metal tin, or aluminium foil which has a loose allusion to tin. "Tinnie" is the common term for a commemorative medal mad ...

. Near the community of

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

the river passes through a deep canyon before entering the rolling hills west of Roswell. Approximately southwest of Roswell the river enters an Army Corps of Engineers flood control reservoir known as the

Two Rivers Dam The Two Rivers Dam is a dry dam in southeastern New Mexico, sixteen miles west-southwest of the city of Roswell. The dam is actually two dams separated by an area of higher land approximately 1.5 miles wide. Normally, no water is impounded behind ...

. The reservoir is typically dry except during the spring

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

. The reservoir also contains the runoff of Rocky Arroyo, an

intermittent stream Intermittent, temporary or seasonal rivers or streams cease to flow every year or at least twice every five years.(Tzoraki et al., 2007) Such rivers drain large arid and semi-arid areas, covering approximately a third of the earth's surface. ...

that parallels the Rio Hondo a few miles to the south. Two earth fill dams totaling in length have the capacity to impound of water. The two dams act as two separate reservoirs, one for the Rio Hondo and one for Rocky Arroyo unless the water level is very high. Then the Rio Hondo and Rocky Arroyo reservoirs merge into a single large reservoir.http://wrri.nmsu.edu/publish/watcon/proc10/Slingerland.pdf After passing through the reservoir, the Rio Hondo begins to meander through the flat land of the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico ...

valley. Rocky Arroyo merges with the Rio Hondo west of the Roswell International Air Center then the Hondo travels northeasterly through Roswell. In many areas the natural route of the river has been altered. This is especially true in the city of Roswell where the river has been lined with concrete or paving stones. In Roswell a small tributary, the Spring River, joins the Hondo. Just east of Roswell another tributary, the

Berrendo River Berenda (Spanish: ''Berrenda'', meaning "female antelope") was an unincorporated community in Madera County, California. It is located on the north bank of Berenda Creek southeast of Fairmead, and northwest of Madera, at an elevation of . ...

, also joins, and downstream from there the Rio Hondo empties into the Pecos River near

Bottomless Lakes State Park Bottomless Lakes State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of New Mexico, located along the Pecos River, about southeast of Roswell. Established in 1933, it was the first state park in New Mexico. It takes its name from nine small, deep l ...

. The upper stretch of the river typically flows year-round, however

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

along the length of the river siphons off much of the natural flow. By the time the river reaches Roswell it is dry, except after storms and during the spring runoff from the mountains.

References

External links

"The Hondo Valley — Picacho, Tinnie, Arabela, Hondo, and San Patricio"
SouthernNewMexico.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hondo, Rio Tributaries of the Rio Grande Rivers of New Mexico Rivers of Lincoln County, New Mexico Rivers of Chaves County, New Mexico

See also

References

External links