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The Rio Puerco is a tributary of 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 G ...
in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
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 ...
. From its source on the west side of the
Nacimiento Mountains The Sierra Nacimiento (official name), or Nacimiento Mountains, are a mountain range in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. They are just west of the more prominent Jemez Mountains near the town of Cuba, and are separated from ...
, it flows about ,Calculated in
Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...
generally south to join the Rio Grande about south of Belen and about south of
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
. Its
drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
is about large, of which probably about are noncontributing. The Rio Puerco is
ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...
, with no
streamflow Streamflow, or channel runoff, is the flow of water in streams and other channels, and is a major element of the water cycle. It is one component of the movement of water from the land to waterbodies, the other component being surface runoff. Wate ...
for part of the year. Its discharge averages . The maximum officially recorded discharge was , in 1941. The greatest flood since about 1880 occurred on September 23, 1929, with an estimated discharge of . Another flood, on August 12, 1929, reached an estimated .


Name

Although Rio Puerco means ''River of Pigs'' in Spanish, this usage in the southwestern United States is better translated as ''Muddy River''.


Course

The Rio Puerco arises in the San Pedro Peaks area of the
Nacimiento Mountains The Sierra Nacimiento (official name), or Nacimiento Mountains, are a mountain range in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. They are just west of the more prominent Jemez Mountains near the town of Cuba, and are separated from ...
, in the
San Pedro Parks Wilderness The San Pedro Parks Wilderness is located in southern Rio Arriba County in northern New Mexico and part of the Santa Fe National Forest. It is (64 sq miles) in size. Elevations range from in the southwestern corner to at San Pedro Peaks near t ...
area of the
Santa Fe National Forest The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected United States National Forest, national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers . Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 ...
. It flows generally south and southwest, leaving the mountains and national forest near the village of
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. From there the river flows generally south. It flows along the west side of the
Jemez Indian Reservation Jemez or Jémez may refer to *Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, a census-designated place in the United States **Jemez Springs, New Mexico, a village **Jemez Mountains **Jemez Mountains salamander (''Plethodon neomexicanus'') **Jemez Mountains Electric C ...
. Arroyo Chico joins from the west, between Mesa San Luis and Mesa Chivato. The Rio Puerco continues south, passing west of Mesa Prieta, then through the Laguna Indian Reservation and the
Tohajiilee Indian Reservation To’Hajiilee ( nv, Tó Hajiileehé, ), Cañoncito Band of Navajos is a non-contiguous section of the Navajo Nation lying in parts of western Bernalillo, eastern Cibola, and southwestern Sandoval counties in the U.S. state of New Mexico, west ...
. Near the Bernalillo–Valencia county line and the
Isleta Pueblo of Isleta ( tix, Shiewhibak , kjq, Dîiw'a'ane ; nv, Naatoohó ) is an unincorporated community and Tanoan pueblo in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States, originally established in the . The Southern Tiwa name of the pueblo ...
Indian Reservation the river is joined by the
Rio San Jose The Rio San Jose is a tributary of the Rio Puerco in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Course The Rio San Jose's farthest tributary stream is Bluewater Creek; its headwaters are in the Zuni Mountains, near the continental divide in Cibola Count ...
, which flows from the west near
Grants Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...
through the Laguna Reservation. The Rio Puerco continues south through the
Albuquerque Basin The Albuquerque Basin (or Middle Rio Grande Basin) is a structural basin and ecoregion within the Rio Grande rift in central New Mexico. It contains the city of Albuquerque. Geologically, the Albuquerque Basin is a half-graben that slopes down ...
to the Rio Grande about south of Belen and about south of
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
.
USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historic ...
s


History

The Rio Puerco Valley is notable for once hosting a significant numbers of
ancestral Puebloan The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, an ...
(descendants of the Basketmaker II) people, many of them fleeing the collapse of the Chacoan civilization. In the 1860s the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
moved strongly against Native American raiding west of the Rio Grande. By the late 1860s the
Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
were no longer a chronic threat and the
Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
had been pushed back into the high mountains. The
Hispanos Hispanos (from es, adj. prefix Hispano- relating to Spain, from la, Hispānus) are Hispanic residents of the United States who are culturally descended from the original Spanish-speaking settlers in the areas which were once part of New Spain ...
living along the Rio Grande were able to move west with some security for the first time. Hispano colonists from
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
and
Bernalillo Bernalillo () is a town in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 8,320. It is the county seat of Sandoval County. Bernalillo is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. Histor ...
quickly occupied every irrigable patch of land along the Rio Puerco. By the middle of the 20th century decades of
overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...
and
flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...
ing had rendered the Rio Puerco country virtually uninhabitable and it was abandoned.


Sediment and erosion

As it carries high levels of
sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
, the Rio Puerco is a major source of suspended particulate matter. Overgrazing has made the Rio Puerco Basin of central New Mexico one of the most eroded river basins of the western United States and has increased the high sediment content of the river."Desertification", United States Geological Survey (1997)
/ref> The
USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
collects suspended-sediment samples at its stream gage three miles (5 km) above the river's mouth. A maximum daily mean of sediment concentration of 417,000 mg/L was recorded on July 25, 2008. The maximum recorded daily sediment load was 2,240,000 tons, recorded on August 7, 1957.


See also

*
List of rivers of New Mexico A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
List of tributaries of the Rio Grande Tributaries and sub-tributaries are hierarchically listed in order from the mouth of the Rio Grande upstream. Major dams and reservoir lakes are also noted. * San Juan River, or Rio San Juan (Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila) ** Marte R. Góme ...
*
Silvester Mirabal Silvestre Mirabal (1864–1939) was a farmer, stock raiser, and notable statesman. Mirabal over the course of his life would go on to become one of the most influential ranchers and statesman in the state of New Mexico. Mirabal was widely known ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puerco, Rio Tributaries of the Rio Grande Rivers of New Mexico Rivers of Socorro County, New Mexico Rivers of Valencia County, New Mexico Rivers of Bernalillo County, New Mexico Rivers of Sandoval County, New Mexico Rivers of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico