Waterflow is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

San Juan County, New Mexico San Juan County is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 121,661 making it the fifth-most populous county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Aztec. The county was created in 1887. San Juan County ...

, United States on the north side of the San Juan River. It is immediately west of Fruitland and north across the river from the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

. It is east of

Shiprock Shiprock ( nv, , "rock with wings" or "winged rock") is a monadnock rising nearly above the high-desert plain of the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, New Mexico, San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. Its peak elevation is above sea le ...

History

The area now known as Waterflow is traditional

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 ...

territory. This place was called ''Chʼį́įdii Łichííʼ'' (Red Devil) in reference to Walter Stallings who operated a trading post in the area; nowadays, ''Tséyaa Akʼahí'' (beneath-rock oil) seems to be another designation in reference to the nearby oil fields, as can be seen on billboards in the area (pictured). The early Anglo settlers in this area named the place "Jewett Valley", and established Jewett Valley Cemetery as early as 1886. Although some reports say these pioneers were predominantly Catholic, one of the earliest families to be buried in this cemetery, the Hunts, have long been

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations * LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, US Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within t ...

. Catholicism in Waterflow, New Mexico dates from February 22, 1912, when the first Mass was celebrated there in makeshift quarters. Three young men, Joseph and Lorenzo Stallings of Kentucky and David Watson of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Catholics, were among the pioneer settlers of the region. They called on the Franciscan Fathers at Farmington for help in establishing a church at Waterflow, which they called “Kentucky Mesa.” Sacred Heart Church was dedicated May 16, 1917. The town was named "Jewett" in P. F. Collier's

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

as early as 1923. The local Catholic church remained a mission of Farmington but began to have a resident pastor in 1945. Since 1982, the

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

s have serviced their people in this area through the Kirtland Stake which covers from Kirtland west to

Shiprock, New Mexico Shiprock ( nv, ) is a unincorporated community on the Navajo Nation, Navajo reservation in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 7,718 people in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the Un ...

, and beyond.

Geography

Waterflow is a high desert valley with the highest point being a geological hogback called " Hogback". The San Juan River and Shumway Arroyo are important water resources in the area.

Demographics

In 2010, Waterflow reported a total population of 1,670 people. 823 were male, and 807 were female. 809 identified themselves as White, 12 identified themselves as Black, 3 identified themselves as Asian, 171 were Hispanic, and 743 were Navajo. 620 speak a language other than English at home. With 551 housing units and a land area of 8.323 sq. miles, there are approximately 190 people per sq. mile in Waterflow.

Industry

Waterflow lies between two coal-fired power plants and southwest of a large coal mine. The area also has many oil wells. While convenient for employment, this proximity has caused several large environmental issues. Because of this, air quality in Waterflow is 1 on a scale to 100 (higher is better). This is based on ozone alert days and number of pollutants in the air. Groundwater near the San Juan coal mine in Waterflow is extremely polluted according to both the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

and New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division. The Sierra Club alleges that the San Juan Coal Company has improperly dumped more than 40 million tons of

coal ash Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when de ...

and sludge into unlined pits, resulting in the contamination of waterways and wells near the mine. The group says that the waste, and the contaminated water, pose a danger to livestock, wildlife and families in the area, and in early December 2007, the Sierra Club announced that it intends to sue the owners of the San Juan Coal Company. The company denies responsibility for the contamination.

Important area businesses

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

* Bob French Navajo Rugs * Circle W Pawn * High Country Transportation * Hogback Shopping Center * Hogback Trading * Original Sweetmeat, founded 1974 * PNM San Juan Generating Station * San Juan Coal * Thriftway Marketing Corporation NO 270 *

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

, zip code 87421 * Valley Hair Care * Valley Trading Post * Wheeler Farms *

Four Corners Generating Station The Four Corners Generating Station is a 1,540 megawatt coal-fired power plant located near Fruitland, New Mexico, on property located on the Navajo Nation that is leased from the Navajo Nation government. Description The Four Corners Gener ...

Education

Central Consolidated Schools Central Consolidated Schools (also known as the Central Consolidated School District) is a public school district based in Shiprock, New Mexico, United States. The district covers a area in western San Juan County. Service area In addition to Sh ...

serves Waterflow as well as other communities in western San Juan County.

Notes

{{authority control Census-designated places in San Juan County, New Mexico Census-designated places in New Mexico Unincorporated communities in San Juan County, New Mexico Unincorporated communities in New Mexico