The Zuni (Zuñi) River is a tributary of the

Little Colorado River The Little Colorado River () is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about i ...

in the southwestern United States. It has its origin in

Cibola County, New Mexico 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, ...

, in the

Zuñi Mountains The Zuñi Mountains (Navajo:Naasht'ézhí Dził or Ńdíshchííʼ Ląʼí) are a mountain range located mainly in Cibola County of northwestern New Mexico, United States, with a small portion extending into McKinley County.''New Mexico Atlas and ...

at 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 c ...

. The river flows off the western slopes of the Zuñi Mountains in a generally southwesterly direction through the

Zuni Indian Reservation The Zuni Indian Reservation, also known as Pueblo of Zuni, is the homeland of the Zuni tribe of Native Americans. In Zuni language, the Zuni Pueblo people are referred to as A:shiwi, and the Zuni homeland is referred to as Halona Idiwan’a mean ...

to join the Little Colorado River in eastern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The Zuni River is approximately long, and has a drainage basin in New Mexico of approximately .

Course

The Zuñi River begins about 4.5 miles east-northeast of Black Rock at the confluence of the Rio Pescado and Rio Nutria. It was dammed at Black Rock in 1908 forming the Black Rock Reservoir. The river has a small dam at the

Zuni Pueblo Zuni Pueblo (also Zuñi Pueblo, Zuni: ''Halona Idiwan’a'' meaning ‘Middle Place’) is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 6,302 as of the 2010 Census. It is inhabited largely b ...

. The river is intermittent, drying up during drought periods, and often during most of the winter, except where there are perennial springs that give it surface flow for a short distance.

Fossils

Suskityrannus mount at Dino Kingdom 2012

The Zuni Basin is home to the Moreno Hill Formation where fossils from the later Cretaceous 92 Mya. Fossils include dinosaurs like

Zuniceratops ''Zuniceratops'' ('Zuni-horned face') was a ceratopsian dinosaur from the mid Turonian of the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now New Mexico, United States. It lived about 10 million years earlier than the more familiar horned Ceratopsi ...

and

Suskityrannus ''Suskityrannus'' (meaning "coyote tyrant", ''suski'' meaning "coyote" in Zuni) is a genus of small tyrannosauroid theropod from the Late Cretaceous in southern Laramidia. It contains a single species, ''Suskityrannus hazelae,'' believed to ...

(Zuni Coelurosaur).

Environment

The Zuni River is one of the last remaining habitats of the

Zuni bluehead sucker ''Catostomus discobolus jarrovii'' (Zuni bluehead sucker) is a species of fish only found in North America. Description The Zuni bluehead sucker has a slender fusiform body with a subterminal mouth. The fish's mouth contains fleshy lips and pro ...

Religious aspect

The Zuni River is sacred to the

Zuni people The Zuni ( zun, A:shiwi; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni are a Federally recognized tribe and most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Li ...

. Every four years, a religious pilgrimage is made on the "Barefoot Trail" to ''Kołuwala:wa'', also called "Zuni Heaven", at the confluence of the Zuni River and the Little Colorado.

References

External links