"The Rio Puerco, a tributary of the Rio Grande in New Mexico, has deepened and widened its channel, or arroyo, since the settlement of the region. This process of accelerated erosion still continues. Historical evidence, largely the notes and maps of government land surveyors, [shows] that the cutting began between 1885 and 1890. The deepening of the arroyos has decreased the agricultural and grazing value of the country, resulting in the abandonment of six small towns and numerous ranches. The coincidence between the introduction of large numbers of stock and the cutting of arroyos indicates that overgrazing precipitated this form of destructive erosion. The ultimate cause ... appears to lie in cyclic fluctuations in climate." --Kirk Bryan, Journal of Geology, 1928.

Topics in this paper include:

• Conditions That Cause Erosion

• A High Erosion Basin: the Rio Puerco of New Mexico
• Local Effects of Erosion
• Downstream Effects of Erosion
• Water: Driver of Erosion
• How Arroyos Work
• Upland Erosion
• Current Research Activities in the Rio Puerco
• Rio Puerco Bibliography
• People to Contact for More Information

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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