A potrero is a long mesa that at one end slopes upward to higher terrain. This landform commonly occurs on the flanks of a mountain, as part of a dissected plateau .
16-778: [REDACTED] Look up potrero in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Potreros may refer to: Landforms [ edit ] Potrero (landform) Pasture Places [ edit ] Potrero, California , a census-designated place in San Diego County, California Potrero Chico , a rock climbing area in Mexico Potrero Generating Station , an electricity generating station in Potrero Point, San Francisco Potrero Grande ,
32-636: A BRT station in Mexico City Point Potrero , Richmond, California San José del Potrero , a municipality in Honduras Vessels [ edit ] SS Potrero del Llano , a Mexican oil tanker sunk during the Second World War See also [ edit ] El Potrero (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
48-432: A few have been used for ultramarathons and endurance rides . Popular uses include walking, dog walking, running, orienteering and rogaining , mountain biking, and horse riding. Due to constraints of geography and land ownership, both Los Alamos and White Rock are compact populated places. Outside of these, the plateau is sparsely populated and wildlife is abundant and diverse. A large elk herd that spends summers in
64-556: A significant migratory flyway that brings many other birds (notably sandhill cranes ) to the plateau during migration seasons, and three species of hummingbirds are abundant during summer. White Rock Canyon , the major canyon containing the Rio Grande into which the plateau's canyons empty, is notorious for rattlesnakes . The Pajarito Plateau has been home to Native American communities for at least 11,000 years. Archaeological evidence indicates both seasonal and permanent use of
80-785: A town in Panama Potrero Hill, San Francisco , a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, USA Potrero Hills (Solano County, California) , a mountain range in Solano County, California Potrero Point , a land mass extending into San Francisco Bay, San Francisco, California Chimayo, New Mexico or Potrero de Chimayo, a census-designated place in New Mexico, USA Potrero metro station , in Mexico City Potrero (Mexico City Metrobús) ,
96-483: Is popular here with locals and visitors alike, and is done in the canyons on basalt cliffs that lie within and below the tuff, which itself is too soft to be climbed safely. The canyons and mesas are highly scenic and well endowed with trails , about which numerous guidebooks have been written. Some trails reach the Rio Grande; others reach the rim of the Valles Caldera. Some are long distance trails , of which
112-415: Is primarily composed of Bandelier Tuff , a voluminous deposit of volcanic tuff laid down in an explosive eruption — in this case, a pair of eruptions from the nearby Valles Caldera. The two ignimbrite-forming eruptions occurred about 1.6 million and 1.2 million years ago and ejected about 300 cubic kilometers of rock each. The orange-pink rock formations constituting the resulting ignimbrites are known as
128-753: The Jemez Mountains , is bounded on the west by the Sierra de los Valles, the range forming the east rim of the Valles Caldera , and on the east by the Puye escarpment, which rises about 300 to 400 feet (90 to 100 m) above the Rio Grande valley about a mile (1.6 km) west of the river. The Rio Grande passes through White Rock Canyon to the southeast, and the Caja del Rio (Cerros del Rio) across
144-589: The Spanish language , potrero is in current use in the southwestern United States , where it is sometimes translated as "tongue of land" and "enclosed piece of pasture land". In the Spanish language, however, the "tongue of land" sense is archaic. Also archaic is the related sense of potrero referring to someone who wrangles foals ( potros in Spanish) kept as breeding stock (not saddle or pack stock). In Spanish,
160-657: The Jemez Mountains descends to the Pajarito Plateau during the winter, creating a significant driving hazard. Deer , black bear and coyote are common, and the plateau and mountains support a small but stable population of mountain lions , which typically flee from humans. Smaller mammals such as raccoons , skunks , and gophers are common. Parts of the Bandelier backcountry have been closed seasonally due to nesting bald eagles . The Rio Grande supports
176-622: The Otowi and Tshirege Members of the Bandelier tuff. The tuff lies on top of a volcanic field , exposed to the east, which used to be continuous with the Caja del Rio (now across the Rio Grande). Erosion has created a maze of canyons up to 800 feet (240 meters) deep that dissect the plateau into mesas . Many of these mesas climb on the western side rather than descending on all sides, thus sometimes are referred to as potreros . Rock climbing
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#1732772475335192-485: The ancient Pueblos abandoned Chaco Canyon , some relocated to the Pajarito Plateau and carved grand dwellings directly into the soft tuff at the bases of the potreros. They also built atop the potreros and on the canyon floors. Some of these dwellings and the surrounding potreros are protected at Bandelier National Monument . Historically, these potreros were used as winter pasture for livestock (horses, sheep, and cattle) that were driven to and from lush summer pastures in
208-442: The high grass valleys ( valles ) of the Valles Caldera . Today, these potreros are used in this manner by a large herd of elk . These potreros are natural enclosures, with only one principal exit: the narrow connection to higher land. In Spain a potrero is common land in poor condition. Pajarito Plateau The Pajarito Plateau is a volcanic plateau in north central New Mexico , United States . The plateau, part of
224-426: The river is sometimes regarded as part of the plateau. The plateau is occupied by several notable entities, including Bandelier National Monument , the town of Los Alamos and its remote suburb White Rock , and Los Alamos National Laboratory . Elevations range from about 5,600 feet (1,700 meters) at the river to about 7,800 feet (2,400 meters) where the plateau merges into the mountain range. The Pajarito Plateau
240-507: The title Potrero . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Potrero&oldid=1024255934 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Potrero (landform) A loan word from
256-561: The usual sense of potrero now refers to any land (such as a ranch, open range , or community pasture) where such horses are kept. Notable examples of potreros include some of the many mesas of the Pajarito Plateau near Santa Fe, New Mexico ( United States ).These "finger mesas" were once a continuous deposit of compressed volcanic ash (the Bandelier Tuff ). Water then cut the tuff into nearly equidistant canyons. When
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