Red River

About the Red River

• The river ends in the Rio Grande Gorge, where it meets the Rio Grande within the Wild Rivers Recreation Area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument; both rivers there carry Wild and Scenic River designation.12
• The town of Red River, at 8,750 feet along the river's upper course, grew up as a mining camp and today calls itself an 'iconic New Mexico mountain town' built around skiing, rafting and trout fishing.3

This report follows 32 miles (52 km) of the Red River, all within the Upper Rio Grande watershed segment. At the lower end of the report the river drains about 190 square miles. Downstream of the mapped reach it flows into the Rio Grande. Named tributaries joining it here include the Columbine Creek. 5 gauges with at least 26 weeks of daily flow cover 1924 to 2026.

From the archive: NHDPlus river network, WBD watersheds, NHD waterbodies, TIGER urban areas and the report's gauges.

From the headwaters down

Each watershed segment in order, with last week's flow rated against the same week in 1991–2020.

1. 1

   Segment 1: Upper Rio Grande

   61 cfs last week much above normal.

   Acequias: Acequia Del Malino, Acequia Del Molino.

   Median conductance 395 µS/cm in the 2010s. Rain over the last 3 months: 174% of normal.

Culture

• The town of Red River grew out of 19th-century mining activity in the upper valley and still trades on that 'small, mining town charm' today.3

Acequias

• Acequia Del Malino
• Acequia Del Molino

From the State Engineer's acequia map, which covers mainly northern New Mexico, and cited records of acequia governance. Within 1.5 km of the river.

Habitat

• Where the Red River meets the Rio Grande, an 800-foot-deep canyon cut into volcanic flows shelters ancient piñon and juniper forest, including trees around 500 years old, and supports mule deer, bighorn sheep, elk and a range of bird species.1

Reservoirs

From the archive: National Inventory of Dams (USACE) and the reservoir registry.

Water users

• The town of Red River draws visitors for skiing at the Red River Ski & Summer Area, along with rafting, hiking and trout fishing on the river, plus snowmobiling, tubing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in winter.3
• Downstream, the Red River's confluence with the Rio Grande anchors the Wild Rivers Recreation Area, a developed site within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument whose wheelchair-accessible La Junta Point overlooks the confluence.1

Surface water withdrawn, 2020

In the counties this river crosses (Taos): 75,691 acre-feet. County totals include other streams.

State Engineer, New Mexico Water Use by Categories 2020.

Irrigation districts and acequias

• 2 acequias, community-run irrigation ditches (listed under Culture)

State Engineer's irrigation districts and acequia layers.

Public water systems beside the river

Questa Water System, Red River Water System

State Engineer's public water systems layer (service areas within 2 km).