A tenaja or tinaja is a

water 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 ...

or retention area. The term usually implies a natural or geologic cistern in rock which retains water. They are often created by

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

al processes within intermittent streams. Before European settlers came to America, tenajas were a valuable source of water for early Native Americans traveling in the desert areas of the

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. Today, tenajas are an integral part of sustaining life in the

arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ...

Southwest. For example, tenajas at the

Santa Rosa Plateau The Santa Rosa Plateau is an upland plateau and southeastern extension of the Santa Ana Mountains in Riverside County, southern California. It is bounded by the rapidly urbanizing Inland Empire cities of Murrieta and Temecula to the northeast an ...

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

allow

western pond turtle The Western pond turtle (''Actinemys marmorata''), also known commonly as the Pacific pond turtle is a species of small to medium-sized turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the western coast of the United States and Mexico, r ...

California newt The California newt or orange-bellied newt (''Taricha torosa''), is a species of newt endemic to California, in the Western United States. Its adult length can range from . Its skin produces the potent toxin tetrodotoxin. Subspecies ''Taricha ...

s and red-legged frogs to survive through dry summer months. During prolonged dry spells, deep tinajas may trap desert animals who cannot climb out due to the smooth walls.

Etymology

From the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

''tinaja:'' a clay pot or earthenware jar.

List of tenajas

* Tenaja Canyon Creek,

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres (), mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, USA * Ernst Tinaja, Big Bend National Park,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, USA * Santa Rosa Plateau Wildlife Area,

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

, USA

References

Hydrology {{Topography-stub