The Rio San Jose is a tributary of the

Rio Puerco The Rio Puerco is a tributary of the Rio Grande in the U.S. state of New Mexico. From its source on the west side of the Nacimiento Mountains, it flows about ,Calculated in Google Earth generally south to join the Rio Grande about south of B ...

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 ...

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 ...

Course

The Rio San Jose's farthest tributary stream is Bluewater Creek; its headwaters are in the

Zuni Mountains Zuni may refer to: Peoples and languages * Zuni people, an indigenous people of the United States * Zuni language, their language Places * Zuni, Virginia, an unincorporated town in Virginia in the United States * Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, a ce ...

, near the

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

Cibola County Cibola County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,213. Its county seat is Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest county, and the third youngest county in the United States, created on June 19, ...

, with about 400 feet of the course in McKinley County. Bluewater Creek is dammed to form

Bluewater Lake Bluewater or Blue Water may refer to: * Blue water, the global deep oceans * Blue Water (missile), British short range nuclear missile of the 1960s * Blue Water (train), an Amtrak line from eastern Michigan to Chicago * Blue-water navy, a navy that ...

, with a capacity of . The Rio San Jose proper starts at the confluence of Bluewater Creek and Mitchell Draw near Bluewater Village. Entering

Valencia County Valencia County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 76,569. The county seat is Los Lunas. Valencia County is included in the Albuquerque, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county was a si ...

, it flows southeast, through

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 ...

, then turning east near McCartys, flowing through the

Acoma Indian Reservation The Pueblo of Acoma ( kjq, Áakʼu) is an Indian reservation of the Acoma Pueblo peoples located in parts of Cibola, Socorro, and Catron counties, in New Mexico, the Southwestern United States. It covers 594.996 sq mi (1,541.033 km²). Th ...

and

Laguna Pueblo The Laguna Pueblo ( Western Keres: Kawaika ʰɑwɑjkʰɑ is a federally recognized tribe of Native American Pueblo people in west-central New Mexico, near the city of Albuquerque, in the United States. Part of the Laguna territory is inclu ...

. The remains of an ancient dam constructed by the Laguna people sometime between 1370–1750 AD is situated within Laguna Pueblo. Below Mesita the river turns southeast again, flowing through a narrow canyon before joining the

Bernalillo County Bernalillo County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo Co ...

. The entire course of the river below Bluewater Creek is roughly paralleled by the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

tracks (formerly the

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern California ...

, built around 1882, later absorbed into the

AT&SF The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

). Between Bluewater Village and Mesita the river valley provides the route for old

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

and

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

Hydrology

The

water level Water level, also known as gauge height or stage, is the elevation of the free surface of a sea, stream, lake or reservoir relative to a specified vertical datum.ISO 772: 1996. Hydrometric determinations – Vocabulary and symbols. See also * ...

and

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. Water ...

of the Rio San Jose has been measured at a number of sites in

Cibola County, New Mexico Cibola County is a List of counties in New Mexico, county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 27,213. Its county seat is Grants, New Mexico, Grants. It is New Mexico's youngest co ...

Stream gauge A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or volu ...

s have been operated by 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 ...

near

Laguna Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to: People * Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay * Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist * Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...

, Correo, and at Acoma Pueblo, near

. The gauge at Acoma Pueblo has a record that commenced in 1937, and is the only one still active. It measures flow from a contributing area of , from a larger

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 ...

of . The mean flow between 1937 and 2016 was , with the lowest daily flow recorded in July 2014 at . The highest river level recorded occurred in September 1963 with a height of through the gauge, giving a corresponding flow of , although this peak flow was affected by diversion or regulation. Since the 1870s the flow of the upper river has been substantially modified by demands for irrigation, groundwater abstraction and a dam on the Bluewater Creek. A report in 1982 showed that the natural flow was estimated to be between and , as opposed to the measured mean flow of .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Jose, Rio Tributaries of the Rio Grande Rivers of New Mexico Rivers of Cibola County, New Mexico Rivers of Valencia County, New Mexico Rivers of Bernalillo County, New Mexico