Rio Pueblo de Taos

Streamflow, conditions and background by watershed segment. Data through November 1, 2026.

Where it is

Segments are the HUC8 watersheds the gauges sit in, numbered upstream to downstream. Use the buttons to switch between the state and the river.

Map of the Rio Pueblo de Taos in New MexicoNew Mexico, with the Rio Pueblo de Taos's 1 watershed segment shaded and numbered upstream to downstream, the river and its gauges, and towns near it (Taos).Beaver CreekCanadian RiverChaco RiverEast Fork Gila RiverGila RiverMimbres RiverPecos RiverRio ChamaRio GrandeRio HondoRio PuercoRio SaladoRio San JoseSalt CreekSan Francisco RiverSan Juan River1. Upper Rio Grande (HUC 13020101)Rio Pueblo de TaosAlbuquerqueSanta FeLas CrucesRoswellFarmingtonRio Pueblo de TaosRio Grande1. Upper Rio Grande (HUC 13020101)Rio Grande del RanchoRio Grande del RanchoRio Grande del RanchoRio Grande del RanchoRio Grande del RanchoRio Fernando de TaosRio Fernando de TaosRio Fernando de TaosRio Fernando de TaosRio Grande del RanchoRio Fernando de TaosRio Fernando de TaosRio Fernando de TaosRio Fernando de TaosRio Fernando de TaosRio Fernando de TaosRio Pueblo de TaosTaosRIO PUEBLO DE TAOS NEAR TAOS, NM (Upper Rio Grande)RIO PUEBLO DE TAOS BELOW LOS CORDOVAS, NM (Upper Rio Grande)RIO PUEBLO DE TAOS NEAR RANCHITO, NM (Upper Rio Grande)RIO PUEBLO DE TAOS AT LOS CORDOVAS, NM (Upper Rio Grande)1
  • 1Upper Rio Grande
  • river and reservoirs
  • gauge

About the Rio Pueblo de Taos

  • Taos Pueblo's multi-story adobe homes beside the stream are estimated to be over a thousand years old and were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 and a National Historic Landmark in 1960.1

This report follows 31 miles (50 km) of the Rio Pueblo de Taos, all within the Upper Rio Grande watershed segment. At the lower end of the report the river drains about 420 square miles. Downstream of the mapped reach it flows into the Rio Grande. Named tributaries joining it here include the Rio Grande del Rancho and Rio Fernando de Taos. Largest urban areas near it: Taos. 4 gauges with at least 26 weeks of daily flow cover 1910 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. Upper Rio Grande

    50 cfs last week much above normal.

    Towns: Taos.

    Acequias: Acequia Madre Del Prado, Acequia Madre Del Pueblo.

    Median conductance 250 µS/cm in the 2020s. Rain over the last 3 months: 174% of normal.

Culture

  • Taos Pueblo's multi-story adobe buildings beside the Rio Pueblo de Taos are estimated to be over a thousand years old; residents maintain them every year and pass them down through families, and the dwellings remain central to the pueblo's religious and cultural activities.21
  • The Taos Pueblo/Abeyta Indian Water Rights Settlement, for which pueblo leadership announced local support in 2008 and which was finalized in 2012, resolved water-rights claims between Taos Pueblo and other Taos Valley water users, including the Town of Taos, the El Prado Water and Sanitation District, and the Taos Valley Acequia Association.3
  • Two acequias figure directly in the settlement's technical record: Acequia del Medio del Prado and Acequia Madre de la Loma, the latter fed by springs on Pueblo land.3

Acequias

  • Acequia Madre Del Prado
  • Acequia Madre Del Pueblo

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.

Reservoirs

No reservoir with 500 acre-feet or more of storage on this river in the National Inventory of Dams.

Water users

  • The Abeyta settlement apportions and protects Taos Pueblo's water rights alongside those of the Town of Taos, the El Prado Water and Sanitation District, the Taos Valley Acequia Association and area Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Associations, all of which draw on the same Taos Valley water sources the Rio Pueblo de Taos feeds.3

Surface water withdrawn, 2020

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

UseShareAcre-ft
Irrigated agriculture86%65,380
Commercial13%9,772
Reservoir evaporation1%442
Public water supply0%62
Livestock0%35

State Engineer, New Mexico Water Use by Categories 2020.

Irrigation districts and acequias

State Engineer's irrigation districts and acequia layers.

Public water systems beside the river

Taos Municipal Water System, Ranchos De Taos MDWCA, El Prado Water & Sanitation District, Upper Ranchitos MDWCA, Vigils Trailer Park, La Lomita Trailer Park

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

Sources

Numbered sources for the statements above, as they were read when the page was prepared.

  1. Taos Pueblo, Taos Pueblo (read 2026-09-28)
  2. History, Taos Pueblo (read 2026-09-28)
  3. Water Rights, Taos Pueblo (read 2026-09-28)