Pecos River, Major river tributary in New Mexico and Texas, United States
The Pecos River begins in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico and flows 926 miles (about 1,490 kilometers) south to meet the Rio Grande near Del Rio in Texas. Along its course it crosses dry plateaus and deep canyons, passing rock walls and sparse grasslands.
Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado crossed the river in 1541 as the first European during his expedition north. In later centuries, trade routes and settlements of cowboys and ranchers grew along its banks.
The river takes its name from the Keresan-speaking people of Pecos Pueblo who settled along its course around 800 AD. Their communities shaped life along the banks for centuries.
Several reservoirs along the course, including Santa Rosa Lake and Red Bluff Dam, supply irrigation water to farmlands in both states. Most access points to the banks are in remote areas and require a vehicle to reach them.
The Pecos River Flume near Carlsbad, New Mexico, built in 1889, is a concrete aqueduct that carries irrigation water across the river. It stands as one of the few remaining water engineering structures of this type in the American Southwest.
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