The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

and flows into

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, emptying into the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio ...

. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in

Mora County ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,881. Its county seat is the census-designated place (CDP) Mora. The county has another CDP, Watrous, a village, Wagon Mound, and 12 smaller unincorporated ...

north of

Pecos, New Mexico Pecos is a village in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,392 at the 2010 census, shrinking slower than other parts of San Miguel County, partly because Pecos is within commuting distance of Santa Fe. The village i ...

, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet (3,700 m). The river flows for 926 miles (1,490 km) before reaching the Rio Grande near Del Rio. Its

drainage 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, ...

encompasses about 44,300 square miles (115,000 km²).Largest Rivers of the United States
USGS The name "Pecos" derives from the

Keresan Keres (), also Keresan (), is a Native American language, spoken by the Keres Pueblo people in New Mexico. Depending on the analysis, Keres is considered a small language family or a language isolate with several dialects. The varieties of eac ...

(Native American language) term for the

Pecos Pueblo Pecos National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in San Miguel and Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico. The park, operated by the National Park Service, encompasses thousands of acres of landscape infused with historical ...

, '' 'æyok'ona'. The river was also historically referred to as the Río Natagés for the

Mescalero Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south- ...

people.

History

The river was the eastern territory of the Faraon (‘Pharaoh’) Apache Indians, a tribe of Apache, probably closely related to the Mescalero Apache, if not part of them. Their divisions were Ancavistis, Jacomis, Orejones, Carlanes, and Cuampes, but of these the Carlanes at least belonged to the Jicarillas. The river later played a large role in the exploration of Texas by 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, Ca ...

. In the latter half of the 19th century, " West of the Pecos" was a reference to the rugged desolation of the

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

. The Texas storekeeper, bartender, and justice of the peace,

Roy Bean Phantly Roy Bean Jr. (c. 1825 – March 16, 1903) was an American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos". According to legend, he held court in his saloon along the ...

, a native of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, was often described as "The Only Law West of the Pecos", a phrase made popular from the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

, ''

Judge Roy Bean Phantly Roy Bean Jr. (c. 1825 – March 16, 1903) was an American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos". According to legend, he held court in his saloon along the ...

'', with

Edgar Buchanan William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...

in the starring role. In the series narration, "West of the Pecos" is described as:

the wildest spot in the United States ... virtually beyond the reach of the authorities, the railroads, then pushing their way west, attracted the most vicious characters in the country. It was said that all civilization and law stopped at the east bank of the Pecos. It took one man, a lone storekeeper who was sick of the lawlessness, to change all this. His name was Judge Roy Bean."

New Mexico and Texas disputed water rights to the river until the U.S. government settled the dispute in 1949 with the Pecos River Compact. The Pecos River Settlement Agreement was signed between New Mexico and Texas in 2003.

Dams

Multiple dams have been built along the Pecos River. Santa Rosa Lake is 117 miles/188 km east of Albuquerque. Sumner Lake, formed by the 1939

Sumner Dam Sumner Dam is a dam on the Pecos River in De Baca County in eastern New Mexico. The dam was built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation between 1935 and 1939, a project governed by the Bureau in conjunction with the local Carlsbad Irrigation ...

, is located between Santa Rosa and Fort Sumner, NM. Two dams are located north of

Carlsbad, New Mexico Carlsbad ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 32,238. Carlsbad is centered at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62/180 and 285, and is the principal city o ...

, at

Avalon Dam Avalon Dam is a small dam on the Pecos River about north of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States. The dam is a storage and regulating reservoir, and diverts water into the main canal of the Carlsbad Project, an irrigation scheme. Location The Pe ...

and

Brantley Dam Brantley Dam is a flood-control and irrigation water-storage dam on the Pecos River in Eddy County, New Mexico, about north of Carlsbad, New Mexico, and upstream from Avalon Dam. Background In the 1960s, the McMillan Reservoir was silting up, r ...

, to help irrigate about as part of the Carlsbad reclamation project (established in 1906). Texas has also dammed the river at the

Red Bluff Dam Red Bluff Dam is a dam in the Pecos River, situated about north of Pecos, Texas. Its Red Bluff Reservoir was formed in 1936 by the dam construction, organized by the Red Bluff Water Control District to provide water for irrigation and hydroelect ...

in the western part of that state to form the

Red Bluff Reservoir Red Bluff Reservoir is a reservoir on the Pecos River north of Pecos, Texas. The reservoir extends into Loving and Reeves Counties in Texas, and Eddy County in New Mexico. The northern shoreline of the reservoir is the lowest point in the st ...

. The portion of the reservoir that extends into New Mexico forms the lowest point in that state.

Wild and Scenic river

On June 6, 1990, of the Pecos River—from its

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition Th ...

to the townsite of Tererro—received

National Wild and Scenic River The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

designation. It includes designated "wild" and designated "recreational".Pecos Wild and Scenic River, New Mexico
- National Wild and Scenic Rivers System File:Pecos1.jpg, Pecos River between Terrerro and Pecos, New Mexico File:Grandfalls Texas Pecos River 2010.jpg, The Pecos River flowing south of

Grandfalls, Texas Grandfalls is a town in Ward County, Texas, United States. It was named for its location near the "grand falls" of the Pecos River, located roughly to the west. Early settlers were attracted to the Grandfalls area in the late 1880s by the steady s ...

File:Pecos River.jpg, Pecos River near the

File:Pecos River Bridge.jpg, Pecos River Highway Bridge

Pecos River Flume

The Pecos River Flume is an

aqueduct Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

carrying irrigation water over the Pecos River. Construction took place from 1889 to 1890 and was part of the Pecos River Reclamation Project. It was originally constructed of wood and spanned . It carried water at a depth of . In 1902, a flood destroyed the

flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to ...

and it was subsequently rebuilt using concrete. In 1902, it was identified as the largest concrete aqueduct in the world. The flume and its surrounding area have been reclaimed by the city of

Carlsbad Carlsbad may refer to: *Carlsbad, California, United States *Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States *Carlsbad, Texas, United States *Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa ...

and transformed into a tourist attraction, with park improvements along the river and spotlights to give a spectacular nightly view.

References

External links