Tinaja is a term originating in Spain (Spanish for clay jar) and used in the
American Southwest
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado ...
for surface pockets (depressions) formed in
bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of be ...
that occur below waterfalls, are carved out by spring flow or seepage, or are caused by sand and gravel scouring in intermittent streams (arroyos).
Tinajas are an important source of surface water storage in
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 ...
environments.
These relatively rare landforms are important ecologically, because they support unique plant communities and provide important services to terrestrial wildlife.
[National Park Service (NPS). 2006.]
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Ecological Monitoring Report
1997–2005, Chapter 14: Water Quality.http://www.nps.gov/orpi/naturescience/orpi-ecological-monitoring-report.htm
Examples
* The
Tinajas Altas ("high tinajas") in southern Arizona.
* Several in
El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve
El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve ( es, Reserva de la Biosfera El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar) is a biosphere reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site managed by the federal government of Mexico, specifically by Sec ...
, Sonora, Mexico.
*
Las Tinajas de Los Indios
Las Tinajas de Los Indios, or "Indian Tanks", are tinajas located in the sandstone heights of the Point of Rocks on the north side of Antelope Valley in Kern County, California.Frank F. Latta, ''El Camino Viejo á Los Angeles - The Oldest Road o ...
, California
*
Las Tinajas, Zinapécuaro
Las Tinajas (, " the small pools") is a village located in the municipality of Zinapécuaro, in the central Mexican state of Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Micho ...
, Mexico
References
External links
Geomorphology
Southwestern United States
Water streams
Fluvial landforms
Habitats
Plant communities of the West Coast of the United States
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