103-609: The Twin Buttes Archeological District is a prehistoric Anasazi village site, with historical significance for the period from 1000 BC through 500 AD. Ancestral Puebloans The Ancestral Puebloans , also known as the Anasazi and by the earlier term the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of
206-661: A channel was dug for flood control which moved the river, creating what was called Cordova Island, which became the center of the Chamizal dispute . Resolving the dispute took many years and resulted in a 1909 combined assassination attempt on the American and Mexican presidents. Following the approval of the Rio Grande Project by federal lawmakers in 1905, the waters of the Rio Grande were to be divided between
309-472: A congregational space that was used mostly for ceremonies, was an integral part of the community structure. Archaeologists continue to debate when this distinct culture emerged. The current agreement, based on terminology defined by the Pecos Classification , suggests their emergence around the 12th century BCE, during the archaeologically designated Early Basketmaker II Era . Beginning with
412-514: A different cycle unrelated to rainfall. This forced the abandonment of settlements in the more arid or overfarmed locations. Evidence suggests a profound change in religion in this period. Chacoan and other structures constructed originally along astronomical alignments, and thought to have served important ceremonial purposes to the culture, were systematically dismantled. Doorways were sealed with rock and mortar. Kiva walls show marks from great fires set within them, which probably required removal of
515-483: A few generations was probably also due to migrations of people from surrounding areas. Innovations such as pottery, food storage, and agriculture enabled this rapid growth. Over several decades, the Ancestral Puebloan culture spread across the landscape. Ancestral Puebloan culture has been divided into three main areas or branches, based on geographical location: Modern Pueblo oral traditions hold that
618-409: A large swing bridge , dates back to 1910 and is still in use today by automobiles connecting Brownsville with Matamoros, Tamaulipas . The swing mechanism has not been used since the early 1900s, though, when the last of the big steamboats disappeared. At one point, the bridge also had rail traffic. Railroad trains no longer use this bridge. A new rail bridge (West Rail International Crossing) connecting
721-424: A large system of easy transportation, as timber was not locally available. Analysis of strontium isotopes shows that much of the timber came from distant mountain ranges. Throughout the southwest Ancestral Puebloan region, the inhabitants built complexes in shallow caves and under rock overhangs in canyon walls. Unlike earlier structures and villages atop mesas, this was a regional 13th-century trend of gathering
824-547: A playa in the southern Albuquerque Basin where it deposited the Popotosa Formation . The upper reach of this river corresponded to the modern Rio Chama , but by 5 million years ago, an ancestral Rio Grande draining the eastern San Juan Mountains had joined the ancestral Rio Chama. The ancestral Rio Grande progressively integrated basins to the south, reaching the Mesilla Basin by 4.5 million years and
927-595: A royal Spanish cartographer. In the autumn of 1540, a military expedition of the Viceroyalty of New Spain led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado , Governor of Nueva Galicia , reached the Tiwa pueblos along the Rio Grande in the future New Mexico . On July 12, 1598, Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar established the New Spain colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico at the new village of San Juan de los Caballeros adjacent to
1030-664: A single river system draining into the Gulf of Mexico until relatively recent geologic time. Instead, the basins formed by the opening of the Rio Grande rift were initially bolsons , with no external drainage and a central playa . An axial river existed in the Espanola Basin as early as 13 million years ago, reaching the Santo Domingo Basin by 6.9 million years ago. However, at this time, the river drained into
1133-482: A single stage. Most houses faced south. Plazas were almost always surrounded by buildings of sealed-off rooms or high walls. There were often four or five stories, with single-story rooms facing the plaza; room blocks were terraced to allow the tallest sections to compose the pueblo's rear edifice. Rooms were often organized into suites, with front rooms larger than rear, interior, and storage rooms or areas. Ceremonial structures known as kivas were built in proportion to
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#17327795648061236-420: A small, sandy delta at the Gulf of Mexico. During portions of 2001 and 2002, the mouth of the Rio Grande was blocked by a sandbar. In the fall of 2003, the sandbar was cleared by high river flows around 7,063 cubic feet per second (200 m /s). The Rio Grande flows through a valley with diverse animal and plants communities. Conservation of the river and the valley is a recurring theme for people who live in
1339-662: A smooth, leveled surface in the bedrock or removing vegetation and soil. Large ramps and stairways in the cliff rock connect the roads above the canyon to sites at the bottom. The largest roads, built at the same time as many of the great houses (1000 to 1125 CE), are: the Great North Road, the South Road, the Coyote Canyon Road , the Chacra Face Road , Ahshislepah Road, Mexican Springs Road ,
1442-417: A veneer of small sandstone pieces, which were pressed into a layer of binding mud . These surfacing stones were often arranged in distinctive patterns. The Chacoan structures together required the wood of 200,000 conifer trees, mostly hauled – on foot – from mountain ranges up to 70 miles (110 km) away. One of the most notable aspects of Ancestral Puebloan infrastructure
1545-721: A widespread practice among Ancestral Puebloans. Ancestral Pueblo people in the North American Southwest crafted a unique architecture with planned community spaces. Population centers such as Chaco Canyon (outside Crownpoint, New Mexico ), Mesa Verde (near Cortez, Colorado ), and Bandelier National Monument (near Los Alamos, New Mexico ) have brought renown to the Ancestral Pueblo peoples. They consisted of apartment complexes and structures made of stone, adobe mud, and other local material, or were carved into canyon walls. Developed within these cultures,
1648-533: A year later, in October 2022, the reservoir had made only insignificant rebounds, resting at 6.4% of capacity. In late July 2022, due to extreme drought, the Rio Grande ran dry for about 50 miles in the middle Rio Grande Valley , including five miles in Albuquerque, the first time it had done so in over 40 years. The following winter, the basin experienced above-average snowfall, leading to very high flows in
1751-524: Is better in flanking basins of the Rio Grande Valley, where numerous Folsom sites and a much smaller number of earlier Clovis sites have been identified. Later Paleo-Indian groups included the Belen and Cody cultures, who appear to have taken advantage of the Rio Grande Valley for seasonal migrations and may have settled more permanently in the valley. The Paleo-Indian cultures gave way to
1854-526: Is characterized by fine hatching, and contrasting colors are produced by the use of mineral-based paint on a chalky background. South of the Anasazi territory, in Mogollon settlements, pottery was more often hand-coiled, scraped, and polished, with red to brown coloring. Certain tall cylinders were likely ceremonial vessels, while narrow-necked jars, called ollas , were often used for liquids. Pottery from
1957-548: Is not part of the Water Authority's long-term resource management plan, dubbed WATER 2120. Dams on the Rio Grande include Rio Grande Dam , Cochiti Dam , Elephant Butte Dam , Caballo Dam , Amistad Dam , Falcon Dam , Anzalduas Dam , and Retamal Dam . In southern New Mexico and the upper portion of the Texas border segment, the river's discharge dwindles. Diversions, mainly for agricultural irrigation, have increased
2060-812: Is that Ancestral Puebloans responded to pressure from Numic -speaking peoples moving onto the Colorado Plateau, as well as climate change that resulted in agricultural failures. The archaeological record indicates that for Ancestral Puebloans to adapt to climatic change by changing residences and locations was not unusual. Early Pueblo I Era sites may have housed up to 600 individuals in a few separate but closely spaced settlement clusters. However, they were generally occupied for 30 years or less. Archaeologist Timothy A. Kohler excavated large Pueblo I sites near Dolores, Colorado , and discovered that they were established during periods of above-average rainfall. This allowed crops to be grown without requiring irrigation. At
2163-512: Is the Chaco Road at Chaco Canyon, a system of roads radiating from many great house sites such as Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, and Una Vida. They led toward small outlier sites and natural features in the canyon and outside. Through satellite images and ground investigations, archaeologists have found eight main roads that together run for more than 180 miles (300 km), and are more than 30 feet (10 m) wide. These were built by excavating into
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#17327795648062266-625: Is unavailable for storage, reducing system capacity by about 180,000 acre-feet. MRGCD has requested storage of "native water" downstream at Abiquiu Reservoir , which normally only stores waters imported into the Rio Grande watershed from the Colorado River watershed via the San Juan–Chama Project . Elephant Butte Reservoir , the main storage reservoir on the Rio Grande, was reported at 13.1% of capacity as of May 1, 2022, further decreasing to only 5.9% full by November 2021. Nearly
2369-705: The Archaic Oshara tradition beginning around 5450 BCE. The Oshara began cultivation of maize between 1750 and 750 BCE, and their settlements became larger and more permanent. Drought induced the collapse of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, at Chaco Canyon and elsewhere across the Four Corners region, at around 1130 CE. This led to a mass migration of the Ancestral Puebloans to the Rio Grande and other more fertile valleys of
2472-1167: The Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers in Arizona and the Rio Puerco and Rio Grande in New Mexico. Structures and other evidence of Ancestral Puebloan culture have been found extending east onto the American Great Plains , in areas near the Cimarron and Pecos Rivers and in the Galisteo Basin . Terrain and resources within this large region vary greatly. The plateau regions have high elevations ranging from 4,500 to 8,500 feet (1,400 to 2,600 m). Extensive horizontal mesas are capped by sedimentary formations and support woodlands of junipers , pinyon , and ponderosa pines , each favoring different elevations. Wind and water erosion have created steep-walled canyons, and sculpted windows and bridges out of
2575-822: The Colorado River basin via the San Juan-Chama Diversion Project and from the Rio Chama . The Rio Grande then continues southwards, irrigating the farmlands in the Middle Rio Grande Valley through the desert cities of Albuquerque and Las Cruces in New Mexico, to El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua , in Mexico. In the Albuquerque metropolitan area , the Rio Grande flows by historic Pueblo villages, such as Sandia Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo . South of El Paso,
2678-579: The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), US–Mexico. The most notable of these treaties were signed in 1906 and 1944. The IBWC traces its institutional roots to 1889, when the International Boundary Committee was established to maintain the border. The IBWC today also allocates river waters between the two nations and provides for flood control and water sanitation. Use of that water belonging to
2781-467: The Mogollon , Hohokam , and Patayan . In relation to neighboring cultures, the Ancestral Puebloans occupied the northeast quadrant of the area. The Ancestral Puebloan homeland centers on the Colorado Plateau, but extends from central New Mexico on the east to southern Nevada on the west. Areas of southern Nevada, Utah, and Colorado form a loose northern boundary, while the southern edge is defined by
2884-642: The Ohio and Mississippi Rivers were requisitioned by the U.S. government and moved to the Rio Grande during the Mexican–American War in 1846. They provided transport for the U.S. Army, under General Zachary Taylor , to invade Monterrey , Nuevo León , via Camargo Municipality, Tamaulipas . Army engineers recommended that with small improvements, the river could easily be made navigable as far north as El Paso. Those recommendations were never acted upon. The Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge ,
2987-595: The Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo at the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Río Chama . During the late 1830s and early 1840s, the river marked the disputed border between Mexico and the nascent Republic of Texas ; Mexico marked the border at the Nueces River . The disagreement provided part of the rationale for the Mexican–American War in 1846, after Texas had been admitted as a new state. Since 1848,
3090-643: The Pecos River and Devils River , both entering the Rio Grande from the north in the vicinity of Amistad Reservoir in Texas, and the Rio Salado and Rio San Juan both entering from the south with confluences in Tamaulipas , Mexico. The Rio Grande rises in high mountains and flows for much of its length at high elevation; the valley floor at Albuquerque is 5,312 feet (1,619 m), and El Paso 3,762 feet (1,147 m) above sea level . In New Mexico,
3193-655: The Pueblo and Navajo peoples also have had names for the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo: The four Pueblo names likely antedated the Spanish entrada by several centuries. Rio del Norte was most commonly used for the upper Rio Grande (roughly, within the present-day borders of New Mexico) from Spanish colonial times to the end of the Mexican period in the mid-19th century. This use was first documented by
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3296-773: The Rio Grande Gorge , and fully reintegrated the San Luis Basin into the Rio Grande watershed. Archeological sites from the earliest human presence in the Rio Grande Valley are scarce, due to traditional Indigenous nomadic culture, Pleistocene and Holocene river incision or burial under the Holocene floodplain. However, some early sites are preserved on West Mesa on the west side of the Rio Grande near Albuquerque. These include Folsom sites, possibly dating from around 10,800 to 9,700 BCE, that were probably short-term sites such as buffalo kill sites. Preservation
3399-679: The Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico . The length of the Rio Grande is 1,896 miles (3,051 km), making it the 4th longest river in the United States and in North America by main stem. It originates in south-central Colorado , in the United States, and flows to the Gulf of Mexico . The Rio Grande drainage basin (watershed) has an area of 182,200 square miles (472,000 km ); however,
3502-477: The US Navy . It was a shallow-draft river port, with several smaller vessels that hauled cargo to and from the deeper-draft cargo ships anchored off shore. These deeper-draft ships could not cross the shallow sandbar at the mouth of the river. The port's commerce was European military supplies, in exchange for bales of cotton. The sedimentary basins forming the modern Rio Grande Valley were not integrated into
3605-411: The endorheic basins that are adjacent to and within the greater drainage basin of the Rio Grande increase the total drainage-basin area to 336,000 square miles (870,000 km ). The Rio Grande with its fertile valley , along with its tributaries, is a vital water source for seven US and Mexican states, and flows primarily through arid and semi-arid lands. After traversing the length of New Mexico ,
3708-490: The sandstone landscape. In areas where resistant strata (sedimentary rock layers), such as sandstone or limestone , overlie more easily eroded strata such as shale , rock overhangs formed. The Ancestral Puebloans favored building under such overhangs for shelters and defensive building sites. All areas of the Ancestral Puebloan homeland suffered from periods of drought and erosion from wind and water. Summer rains could be unreliable and produced destructive thunderstorms. While
3811-441: The southwestern willow flycatcher . The water of the Rio Grande is over-appropriated: that is, more users for the water exist than water in the river. Because of both drought and overuse, the section from Las Cruces downstream through Ojinaga frequently runs dry and was recently tagged "The Forgotten River" by those wishing to bring attention to the river's deteriorated condition. In 2022, due to increasing drought and water use,
3914-485: The "Sky City", in New Mexico. Before 900 CE and progressing past the 13th century, the population complexes were major cultural centers. In Chaco Canyon, Chacoan developers quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling 15 major complexes. These ranked as the largest buildings in North America until the late 19th century. Evidence of archaeoastronomy at Chaco has been proposed, with
4017-432: The 12th and 13th centuries. The main reason is unclear. Factors discussed include global or regional climate change, prolonged drought, environmental degradation such as cyclical periods of topsoil erosion or deforestation, hostility from new arrivals, religious or cultural change, and influence from Mesoamerican cultures. Many of these possibilities are supported by archaeological evidence. Current scholarly consensus
4120-572: The 13th century. Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( / ˌ r iː oʊ ˈ ɡ r æ n d / or / ˌ r iː oʊ ˈ ɡ r ɑː n d eɪ / ) in the United States or the Río Bravo ( del Norte ) in Mexico ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ˈβɾaβo ðel ˈnoɾte] ), also known as P’osoge in Tewa and Tó Ba’áadi in Navajo , is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River ) in
4223-558: The 1890s, the Rio Grande flowed through Las Cruces from February to October each year, but this is subject to climate change. In 2020, the river flowed only from March to September. As of January 2021, the Elephant Butte Irrigation District (Ebid) expected that water shortages would mean the river only flows through Las Cruces from June through July. The water shortages are affecting the local ecosystem and endangering species including cottonwood trees and
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4326-755: The American Southwest began to leave their historic homes and migrate south. According to archaeologists Patricia Crown and Steadman Upham, the appearance of the bright colors on Salado Polychromes in the 14th century may reflect religious or political alliances on a regional level. Late 14th- and 15th-century pottery from central Arizona, widely traded in the region, has colors and designs which may derive from earlier ware by both Ancestral Pueblo and Mogollon peoples. The Ancestral Puebloans also excelled at rock art , which included carved petroglyphs and painted pictographs . Ancestral Pueblo peoples painted Barrier Canyon Style pictographs in locations where
4429-413: The Ancestral Puebloans originated from sipapu , where they emerged from the underworld . For unknown ages, they were led by chiefs and guided by spirits as they completed vast migrations throughout the continent of North America. They settled first in the Ancestral Puebloan areas for a few hundred years before moving to their present locations. The Ancestral Puebloans left their established homes in
4532-774: The Brownsville and Matamoros Bridge Company, a joint venture between the Mexican government and the Union Pacific Railroad . At the mouth of the Rio Grande, on the Mexican side, was the large commercial port of Bagdad, Tamaulipas . During the American Civil War , this was the only legitimate port of the Confederacy. European warships anchored offshore to maintain the port's neutrality, and managed to do so successfully throughout that conflict, despite occasional stare-downs with blockading ships from
4635-551: The Chinle, Animas, Jemez , and Taos Rivers. The larger rivers were less directly important to the ancient culture, as smaller streams were more easily diverted or controlled for irrigation. The Ancestral Puebloan culture is perhaps best known for the stone and earth dwellings its people built along cliff walls, particularly during the Pueblo II and Pueblo III eras, from about 900 to 1350 CE in total. The best-preserved examples of
4738-521: The Field Museum in Chicago has been studying a group of Ancestral Puebloan villages that relocated from the canyons to the high mesa tops during the late 13th century. Haas believes that the reason to move so far from water and arable land was a defense against enemies. He asserts that isolated communities relied on raiding for food and supplies, and that internal conflict and warfare became common in
4841-550: The Great Houses were elite, wealthier families. They hosted indoor burials, where gifts were interred with the dead, often including bowls of food and turquoise beads. Over centuries, architectural forms evolved but the complexes kept some core traits, such as their size. They averaged more than 200 rooms each, and some had 700 rooms. Rooms were very large, with higher ceilings than Ancestral Pueblo buildings of earlier periods. They were well-planned: vast sections were built in
4944-714: The Mesa Verde and the Bandelier areas. Evidence also suggests that a profound change took place in the Ancestral Pueblo area and areas inhabited by their cultural neighbors, the Mogollon . Historian James W. Loewen agrees with this oral tradition in his book, Lies Across America: What Our Historic Markers and Monuments Get Wrong (1999). No academic consensus exists with the professional archeological and anthropological community on this issue. Environmental stress may have caused changes in social structure, leading to conflict and warfare. Near Kayenta, Arizona , Jonathan Haas of
5047-612: The Palomas basin by 3.1 million years ago, forming Lake Palomas . River capture by a tributary of the Pecos River then occurred, with the Rio Grande flowing to Texas by 2.06 million years, and finally joining the Pecos River 800,000 years ago, which drained into the Gulf of Mexico. Volcanism in the Taos Plateau reduced drainage from the San Luis Basin until a spillover event 440,000 years ago that drained Lake Alamosa , forming
5150-480: The Pueblo II became more self-contained, decreasing trade and interaction with more distant communities. Southwest farmers developed irrigation techniques appropriate to seasonal rainfall, including soil and water control features such as check dams and terraces. The population of the region continued to be mobile, abandoning settlements and fields under adverse conditions. There was also a drop in water table due to
5253-472: The Rio Grande becomes the Mexico–United States border , between the U.S. state of Texas and the northern Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila , Nuevo León and Tamaulipas ; a short segment of the Rio Grande is a partial state-boundary between the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. Since the mid–twentieth century, only 20 percent of the Rio Grande's water reaches the Gulf of Mexico, because of
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#17327795648065356-487: The Rio Grande farther north in Colorado and near Albuquerque, the 1938 Rio Grande Compact developed primarily because of the necessary repeal of the Rio Grande embargo among other issues. Though both Colorado and New Mexico were initially eager to begin negotiations, they broke down over whether Texas should be allowed to join negotiations in 1928, though it had representatives present. In an effort to avoid litigation of
5459-401: The Rio Grande has marked the boundary between Mexico and the United States from the twin cities of El Paso , Texas, and Ciudad Juárez , Chihuahua, to the Gulf of Mexico. As such, crossing the river was the escape route used by some Texan slaves to seek freedom. Mexico had liberal colonization policies and had abolished slavery in 1828. In 1899, after a gradual change to the river position,
5562-498: The Rio Grande is the national border between the U.S. and Mexico. The segment of the river that forms the international border ranges from 889 to 1,248 miles (1,431 to 2,008 km), depending on how the river is measured. The Rio Conchos is a major tributary of the Rio Grande, with its confluence 310 km. (193 straight air miles) southeast of El Paso near Ojinaga , in Chihuahua , Mexico. Downstream, other tributaries include
5665-530: The Rio Grande's discharge increases to its maximum annual average of 3,504 cubic feet per second (99 m /s) near Rio Grande City. Large diversions for irrigation below Rio Grande City reduce the river's average flow to 889 cubic feet per second (25 m /s) at Brownsville and Matamoros. The major international border crossings along the river are at Ciudad Juárez and El Paso ; Presidio and Ojinaga; Laredo and Nuevo Laredo ; McAllen and Reynosa ; and Brownsville and Matamoros. Other notable border towns are
5768-784: The Southwest, competing with other indigenous communities such as the Apache with territory in the Rio Grande Valley. This led to decades of conflict (the Coalition Period), the eventual merging of cultures, and the establishment of most of the Tanoan and Keresan pueblos of the Rio Grande Valley. This was followed by the Classic Period, from about 1325 CE to 1600 CE and the arrival of the Spanish. The upper Rio Grande Valley
5871-424: The Spanish in 1582. Early American settlers in South Texas began to use the modern 'English' name Rio Grande. By the late 19th century, in the United States, the name Rio Grande had become standard in being applied to the entire river, from Colorado to the sea. By 1602, Río Bravo had become the standard Spanish name for the lower river, below its confluence with the Rio Conchos. The largest tributary of
5974-549: The Sun Dagger petroglyph at Fajada Butte a popular example. Many Chacoan buildings may have been aligned to capture the solar and lunar cycles, requiring generations of astronomical observations and centuries of skillfully coordinated construction. The Chacoans abandoned the canyon, probably due to climate change beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130. Immense complexes known as "great houses" embodied worship at Chaco. Archaeologists have found musical instruments, jewelry, ceramics, and ceremonial items, indicating people in
6077-496: The Texas/Coahuila pairings of Del Rio – Ciudad Acuña and Eagle Pass – Piedras Negras . Río Grande is Spanish for "Big River" and Río Grande del Norte means "Big River of the North". In English, Rio Grande is pronounced either / ˈ r iː oʊ ˈ ɡ r æ n d / or / ˈ r iː oʊ ˈ ɡ r ɑː n d eɪ / . In Mexico, it is known as Río Bravo or Río Bravo del Norte , bravo meaning (among other things) "furious", "agitated" or "wild". Historically,
6180-417: The U.S. and Mexico was built about 15 miles west of the Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge. It was inaugurated in August 2015. It moved all rail operations out of downtown Brownsville and Matamoros. The West Rail International Crossing is the first new international rail crossing between the U.S. and Mexico in over a century. The Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge is now operated by
6283-431: The United States is regulated by the Rio Grande Compact , an interstate pact between Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. 62,780 acre-feet (77,440,000 m ) of water from the upper Colorado River basin per year is allotted to municipalities in New Mexico by the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact ; Albuquerque owns 48,200. The water is delivered to the Rio Grande via the San Juan–Chama Project . The project's construction
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#17327795648066386-566: The United States, comprising southeastern Utah , northeastern Arizona , northwestern New Mexico , and southwestern Colorado . They are believed to have developed, at least in part, from the Oshara tradition , which developed from the Picosa culture . The people and their archaeological culture are often referred to as Anasazi , a term introduced by Alfred V. Kidder from the Navajo word anaasází meaning 'enemy ancestors' ( anaa– 'enemy', -sází 'their ancestors') although Kidder thought it meant 'old people'. Contemporary Puebloans object to
6489-452: The West Road, and the shorter Pintado-Chaco Road. Simple structures like berms and walls are sometimes aligned along the roads. Some tracts of the roads lead to natural features such as springs, lakes, mountain tops, and pinnacles. The longest and best-known of these roads is the Great North Road, which originates from different routes close to Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl. These roads converge at Pueblo Alto and from there lead north beyond
6592-419: The agricultural interests of the Mesilla Valley and those of El Paso and Juárez . In the agreement provisions were made to construct Elephant Butte dam on public lands. This act was the first occurrence of congressionally directed allocation of an interstate river (although New Mexico would not achieve statehood till 1912). Following the admittance of New Mexico into the union, the increased settlement of
6695-415: The amount of winter snowfall varied greatly, the Ancestral Puebloans depended on the snow for most of their water. Snow melt allowed the germination of seeds, both wild and cultivated, in the spring. Where sandstone layers overlay shale, snow melt could accumulate and create seeps and springs, which the Ancestral Puebloans used as water sources. Snow also fed the smaller, more predictable tributaries, such as
6798-409: The canyon limits. Along roadways were only small, isolated structures. Archaeological interpretations of the Chaco road system are divided between an economic purpose and a symbolic, ideological or religious role. The system was discovered in the late 19th century and excavated in the 1970s. By the late 20th century, aerial and satellite photographs helped in the study. Archaeologists suggested that
6901-497: The completion of San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project (SJCDWP) by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. The SJCDWP uses an adjustable-height diversion dam to skim imported San Juan-Chama water from the Rio Grande, then pumps this water to a treatment plant on Albuquerque's north side. From there it is added to a municipal drinking water distribution system serving Albuquerque's metro area. Diversions are restricted during periods of low river flow in order to protect
7004-484: The continuation of the Chaco Canyon elite system, which had seemingly collapsed a century earlier. Other researchers instead explain these motifs as part a wider Pueblo style or religion. During the period from 700 to 1130 CE ( Pueblo I and II Eras ), the population grew fast due to consistent and regular rainfall which supported agriculture. Studies of skeletal remains show increased fertility rather than decreased mortality. However, this tenfold population increase over
7107-475: The dismantling of their religious structures was an effort to symbolically undo the changes they believed they caused due to their abuse of their spiritual power, and thus make amends with nature. Most modern Pueblo peoples (whether Keresans , Hopi , or Tanoans ) assert the Ancestral Puebloans did not "vanish", as is commonly portrayed. They say that the people migrated to areas in the southwest with more favorable rainfall and dependable streams. They merged into
7210-445: The earliest explorations and excavations, researchers identified Ancestral Puebloans as the forerunners of contemporary Pueblo peoples although specific site to modern group connections are unclear. Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in the United States are credited to the Pueblos: Mesa Verde National Park , Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Taos Pueblo . Pueblo , which means "village" and "people" in Spanish,
7313-480: The elite family whose burials associate them with the site practiced matrilineal succession. Room 33 in Pueblo Bonito, the richest burial ever excavated in the Southwest, served as a crypt for one powerful lineage, traced through the female line, for approximately 330 years. While other Ancestral Pueblo burials have not yet been subjected to the same archaeogenomic testing, the survival of matrilineal descent among contemporary Pueblo peoples suggests that this may have been
7416-469: The findings of which helped lead to the final agreement. The 1938 Rio Grande Compact provided for the creation of a compact commission, the creation of gaging stations along the river to ensure flow amounts by Colorado to New Mexico at the state line and by New Mexico to Elephant Butte Reservoir , the water once there would fall under the regulation of the Rio Grande Project which would guarantee provision to Texas and Mexico. A system of debits and credits
7519-678: The form of a 300-year period of aridity called the Great Drought. This also led to the collapse of the Tiwanaku civilization around Lake Titicaca in present-day Bolivia. The contemporary Mississippian culture also collapsed during this period. Confirming evidence dated between 1150 and 1350 has been found in excavations of the western regions of the Mississippi Valley , which show long-lasting patterns of warmer, wetter winters and cooler, drier summers. In this later period,
7622-495: The growing populations into close, defensible quarters. There were buildings for housing, defense, and storage. These were built mostly of blocks of hard sandstone, held together and plastered with adobe mortar. Constructions had many similarities, but unique forms due to the unique rock topography. The best-known site is at Mesa Verde, with a large number of well-preserved cliff dwellings. This area included common Pueblo architectural forms, such as kivas, towers, and pit-houses, but
7725-474: The images were protected from the sun yet visible to the public. Designs include human-like forms. The so-called "Holy Ghost panel" in the Horseshoe Canyon is considered to be one of the earliest uses of graphical perspective where the largest figure appears to take on a three-dimensional representation. Recent archaeological evidence has established that in at least one great house, Pueblo Bonito,
7828-546: The least amount of control over the waterway, has routinely seen an under-provision of water since 1992. In 1997, the US designated the Rio Grande as one of the American Heritage Rivers . Two portions of the Rio Grande are designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers System , one in northern New Mexico and the other in Texas, at Big Bend National Park . In mid-2001, a 328-foot (100 m)-wide sandbar formed at
7931-466: The massive roof – a task which would require significant effort. Habitations were abandoned, and tribes divided and resettled far. This evidence suggests that the religious structures were abandoned deliberately over time. Pueblo oral history holds that the ancestors had achieved great spiritual power and control over natural forces. They used their power in ways that caused nature to change and caused changes that were never meant to occur. Possibly,
8034-708: The matter in the Supreme Court a provisional agreement was signed in 1929 which stated that negotiations would resume once a reservoir was built on the New Mexico-Colorado state line. The construction of this was delayed by the Market Crash of 1929 . With negotiations remaining stagnant, Texas sued New Mexico over the issue in 1935, prompting the intervention of the president who set up the Rio Grande Joint Investigation
8137-417: The meaning of Anasazi to "those who are different from our people"; (lit. Ana = "different from us" + asaza = "the old ones"). Hopi people use the term Hisatsinom , meaning "ancient people", to describe the Ancestral Puebloans. The Ancestral Puebloans were one of four major prehistoric archaeological traditions recognized in the American Southwest, also known as Oasisamerica . The others are
8240-405: The mouth of the river, marking the first time in recorded history that the Rio Grande failed to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. The sandbar was dredged , but reformed almost immediately. Spring rains the following year flushed the reformed sandbar out to sea, but it returned in mid-2002. By late 2003, the river once again reached the Gulf. For much of the time since water rights were introduced in
8343-461: The natural decrease in flow such that by the time the river reaches Presidio , little or no water is left. Below Presidio, the Rio Conchos restores the flow of water. Near Presidio, the river's discharge is frequently zero. Its average discharge is 178 cubic feet per second (5 m /s), down from 945 cubic feet per second (27 m /s) at Elephant Butte Dam. Supplemented by other tributaries,
8446-471: The number of rooms in a pueblo. A small kiva was built for roughly every 29 rooms. Nine complexes each had a Great Kiva, up to 63 feet (19 m) in diameter. T-shaped doorways and stone lintels marked all Chacoan kivas. Although simple and compound walls were often used, great houses usually had core-and-veneer walls: rubble filled the gap between parallel load-bearing walls of dressed, flat sandstone blocks bound in clay mortar. Walls were covered in
8549-614: The people also adopted design details from other cultures as far away as contemporary Mexico . These buildings were usually multistoried and multipurposed, and surrounded by open plazas and viewsheds . Hundreds to thousands of people lived in these communities. These complexes hosted cultural and civic events and infrastructure that supported a vast outlying region hundreds of miles away linked by transportation roadways. Built well before 1492 CE, these towns and villages were located in defensive positions, for example on high, steep mesas such as at Mesa Verde or present-day Acoma Pueblo , called
8652-528: The pit-house, a common feature in the Basketmaker periods. Ancestral Puebloans are also known for their pottery. Local plainware pottery used for cooking or storage was unpainted gray, either smooth or textured. Pottery used for more formal purposes was often more richly adorned. In the northern portion of the Ancestral Pueblo lands, from about 500 to 1300 CE, the pottery styles commonly had black-painted designs on white or light gray backgrounds. Decoration
8755-475: The region. Although the river's greatest depth is 60 feet (18 m), the Rio Grande generally cannot be navigated by passenger riverboats or by cargo barges . Navigation is only possible near the mouth of the river, in rare circumstances up to Laredo, Texas . Navigation was active during much of the 19th century, with over 200 different steamboats operating between the river's mouth close to Brownsville and Rio Grande City, Texas . Many steamboats from
8858-496: The riparian ecosystem and mitigate effects on endangered species like the Rio Grande silvery minnow . Treated effluent water is recycled into the Rio Grande south of the city. Surface water from the SJCDWP comprises a significant percentage of Albuquerque's drinking water supply, with groundwater constituting the remainder; annual percentages vary according to runoff and climate conditions. Acquisition of native pre-1907 water rights
8961-418: The river flows through the Rio Grande rift from one sediment -filled basin to another, cutting canyons between the basins and supporting a fragile bosque ecosystem on its flood plain . From Albuquerque southward, the river flows through desert. Although irrigated agriculture exists throughout most of its stretch, it is particularly extensive in the subtropical Lower Rio Grande Valley . The river ends in
9064-467: The river in spring of 2023 and flooding of some of its tributaries, including the Jemez and Pecos Rivers . By that summer, after the spring runoff had concluded and due to a failed New Mexico monsoon season and record high temperatures, the river went dry in Albuquerque for a second consecutive year. The United States and Mexico share the water of the river under a series of agreements administered by
9167-577: The road's main purpose was to transport local and exotic goods to and from the canyon. The economic purpose of the Chaco road system is shown by the presence of luxury items at Pueblo Bonito and elsewhere in the canyon. Items such as macaws , turquoise and seashells, which are not part of this environment, and imported vessels distinguished by design, prove that the Chaco traded with distant regions. The widespread use of timber in Chacoan constructions required
9270-573: The same time, nearby areas that suffered significantly drier patterns were abandoned. Ancestral Puebloans attained a cultural "Golden Age" between about 900 and 1150. During this time, generally classed as Pueblo II Era, the climate was relatively warm and rainfall mostly adequate. Communities grew larger and were inhabited for longer. Highly specific local traditions in architecture and pottery emerged, and trade over long distances appears to have been common. Domesticated turkeys appeared. After around 1130, North America had significant climatic change in
9373-409: The southern regions of Ancestral Pueblo lands has bold, black-line decoration and the use of carbon-based colorants. In northern New Mexico, the local black-on-white pottery tradition, the Rio Grande white wares , continued well after 1300 CE. Changes in pottery composition, structure, and decoration are signals of social change in the archaeological record. This is particularly true as the peoples of
9476-715: The space restrictions of these alcoves resulted in far denser populations. Mug House, a typical cliff dwelling of the period, was home to around 100 people who shared 94 small rooms and eight kivas, built right up against each other and sharing many walls. Builders maximized space use and no area was off-limits. Not all the people in the region lived in cliff dwellings; many colonized the canyon rims and slopes in multifamily structures that grew to unprecedented size as populations swelled. Decorative motifs for these sandstone/mortar structures, both cliff dwellings and not, included T-shaped windows and doors. This has been taken by some archaeologists, such as Stephen Lekson (1999), as evidence of
9579-416: The states of New Mexico and Texas based on their respective amount of irrigable land. The project also accorded 60,000 acre-feet (74 million cubic meters ) of water annually to Mexico in response to the country's demands. This was meant to put an end to the many years of disagreement concerning rights to the river's flow and the construction of a dam and reservoir at various location on the river between
9682-684: The stone dwellings are now protected within United States' national parks , such as Navajo National Monument , Chaco Culture National Historical Park , Mesa Verde National Park , Canyons of the Ancients National Monument , Aztec Ruins National Monument , Bandelier National Monument , Hovenweep National Monument , and Canyon de Chelly National Monument . These villages, called pueblos by Spanish colonists, were accessible only by rope or through rock climbing. These astonishing building achievements had modest beginnings. The first Ancestral Puebloan homes and villages were based on
9785-532: The use of this term, with some viewing it as derogatory. The Ancestral Puebloans lived in a range of structures that included small family pit houses , larger structures to house clans , grand pueblos , and cliff-sited dwellings for defense. They had a complex network linking hundreds of communities and population centers across the Colorado Plateau . They held a distinct knowledge of celestial sciences that found form in their architecture. The kiva ,
9888-474: The various Pueblo peoples whose descendants still live in Arizona and New Mexico. This perspective was also presented by early 20th-century anthropologists, including Frank Hamilton Cushing , J. Walter Fewkes , and Alfred V. Kidder . Many modern Pueblo tribes trace their lineage from specific settlements. For example, the San Ildefonso Pueblo people believe that their ancestors lived in both
9991-528: The voluminous consumption of water required to irrigate farmland (e.g. the Mesilla and Lower Rio Grande Valleys ) and to continually hydrate cities (e.g. Albuquerque); such water usages are additional to the reservoirs of water retained with diversion dams . 260 miles (418 km) of the river in New Mexico and Texas are designated as the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River . The Rio Grande rises in
10094-548: The water debt owed to Texas increased from 31,000 acre-feet to over 130,000 acre-feet since 2021, despite "very significant efforts that were done on the river this year to keep water flowing downstream." In response, New Mexico increased its program offering to subsidize farmers who fallow their fields rather than planting crops, which uses additional water; the city of Albuquerque shut off its domestic supply diversion and switched to full groundwater pumping in 2021. Additionally, in 2022, work began on El Vado Dam , during which it
10197-805: The western part of Rio Grande National Forest , in the U.S. state of Colorado , and is formed by the joining of several streams at the base of Canby Mountain , in the San Juan Mountains , due east of the Continental Divide of the Americas . From the Continental Divide, the Rio Grande flows through the San Luis Valley , then south into New Mexico , and passes through the Rio Grande Gorge , near Taos, then toward Española , afterwards collecting additional waters from
10300-512: Was a term originating with the Spanish explorers who used it to refer to the people's particular style of dwelling. The Navajo people, who now reside in parts of former Pueblo territory, referred to the ancient people as Anaasází , an exonym meaning "ancestors of our enemies", referring to their competition with the Pueblo peoples. The Navajo now use the term in the sense of referring to "ancient people" or "ancient ones", whereas others ascribe
10403-406: Was characterized by occasional periods of extreme drought, and the human inhabitants make extensive use of gridded gardens and check dams to stretch the uncertain water supply. In 1519, a Spanish naval expedition along the northeastern coast of Mexico charted the mouths of several rivers including the Rio Grande. In 1536, the Rio Grande appeared for the first time on a map of New Spain produced by
10506-412: Was created to account for variations in the water provided. The compact remains in effect today, though it has been amended twice. In 1944, the US and Mexico signed a treaty regarding the river. Due to drought conditions which have prevailed throughout much of the 21st century, calls for a reexamination of this treaty have been made by locals in New Mexico, Mexico, and Texas. Texas, being the state with
10609-694: Was initiated by legislation signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, and was completed in 1971. This diversion project transports water under the continental divide from tributaries of the San Juan River (the Navajo, the Little Navajo, and Blanco Rivers) to Heron Reservoir, which empties into the Rio Chama before this connects to the Rio Grande. Although it held rights to San Juan-Chama water for many years, it wasn't until 2008 that Albuquerque began using it as part of its municipal supply, with
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