Rio Ojo Caliente Explained

The Rio Ojo Caliente (or Ojo Caliente River) is a tributary of the Rio Chama mostly in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, with a small part near Ojo Caliente in Taos County.^[1]

Course

From the confluence of the Rio Vallecitos and Rio Tusas near La Madera, it flows southeast through a small canyon before turning southwest and entering the Ojo Caliente Valley. From here the river parallels US Route 285 and flows past the town of Ojo Caliente, feeding acequias (small irrigation canals) along the way. South of the town, the Rio Ojo Caliente flows past Black Mesa, which separates its basin from that of the Rio Grande, before reaching its confluence with the Rio Chama near the town of Chile, just upstream from that river's confluence with the Rio Grande.^{[2] [3]}

See also

• List of rivers of New Mexico

References

36.1094°N -106.1425°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: In the Matter of the Application by Marisa Gallegos for Permit to Change Point of Diversion of Surface Water of the Rio Ojo Caliente, a Tributary to the Rio Chama and the Rio Grande in the Rio Grande Underground Water Basin in Northern New Mexico. 2004. ose.state.nm.us. 28 September 2011.
2. Web site: Plio-Pleistocene incision history of the Rio Ojo Caliente, northern Española Basin, and overview of the Rio Grande system in northern New Mexico. 27 August 2023 .
3. San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1953 (1969 rev.)