The Red River of
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, United States, is a short,
perennial
In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
river that flows down the north slope of
Mount Wheeler in the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...
, flows west past the towns of
Red River and
Questa and then south into the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
just south of the La Junta Campground.
["Wild Rivers Recreation Area"](_blank)
Sangres.com
The Red River is Taos's winter fishery with prime time being from October through early April. The Red provides visitors the unique opportunity to fish and ski on the same trip. A myriad of springs flow into the river greatly increasing the flows and keeping the water temperatures in the optimum trout fishing range of between 45 and 60 degrees making the Red an ideal winter trout fishery.
As the summer monsoon season comes to an end and afternoon showers begin to taper off, the river settles down and clears nicely, allowing the fun to begin.
In the fall, towards the middle to end of October, larger rainbow trout begin staging in the lower reaches of the river near the confluence with the Rio Grande and start pushing up the river to spawn, creating a great opportunity for a shot at some big Browns through November as they migrate up river and back again. The Red River is noted for its trout fishery and its lower portion is part of the
Wild Rivers Recreation Area.
Located below Questa on the river is the New Mexico Red River Fish Hatchery.
The Red River derives its water from snowmelt and summer season convective storms and due to the relatively consistent patterns of
orographic
Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology,'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader disc ...
precipitation it is a perennial stream.
[Staff (17 March 2006]
"Chapter 2: Red River Watershed Background"
''Final-approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Red River Watershed'' Surface Water Quality Bureau, New Mexico Environment Department
See also
*
Red River Canyon affair – a battle in the
Taos Revolt
The Taos Revolt was a popular insurrection in January 1847 by Hispano and Pueblo allies against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. Provisional governor Charles Bent and severa ...
, part of the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
*
List of rivers of New Mexico
*
List of tributaries of the Rio Grande
Tributary, Tributaries and sub-tributaries are hierarchically listed in order from the mouth of the Rio Grande upstream. Major dams and reservoir lakes are also noted.
* San Juan River (Tamaulipas), San Juan River, or Rio San Juan (Tamaulipas, Nue ...
*
Wild Rivers Recreation Area
*
References
Carson National Forest
Rivers of New Mexico
Rivers of Taos County, New Mexico
Tributaries of the Rio Grande
Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States
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