Arroyo is a spanish word signifying streambeds which are dry most of the time and become channels for water after rain or runoff. Arroyos form where water seeks its lowest and most convenient channel and are usually below the normal water level for the area. A low area where water pools from rain or runoff is called a playa and is distinguished from an arroyo by the fact that water forms a lake or pond rather than a stream or torrent. In the desert southwest where the ground is hard and baked and the rainfall is sudden and can be heavy in a short period of time, water can travel at rates of up to 120 mph, uprooting trees and bushes by its force and frequently changing the contour and depth of the arroyo, carrying soil, rocks, plant matter, rags and cans, railroad nails and even styrofoam and other detritus of civilization in its wake. Geologists call this “flashy flow” meaning streamflow that rises to flood level and recedes quickly.
Arroyos are yin as described by Chinese cosmology and feng shui and represent and embody “the tonal” in the Aztec world view. They are the abode of the feminine. Arroyos act to replenish the groundwater through “recharge windows” which are usually short offshoots of the main channel where the water seeps down into the aquifer below. These windows are literally gates to the underworld below the world we know, the kingdom of the sun, the other great energizer of the planet. The forces of the tonal, the great mother which creates and nurtures material existence have their domain here. One of the results of this “flashy flow” is that as the water recedes it deposits what it carried in the channel and where it overflowed . This can include fairly large objects such as logs or boulders as well as sand, silt, pebbles, pine cones, crystals and seed pods. The cutting of the arroyo itself, which is ever changing due to erosion and changes in hydraulic geometry, exposes rocks, minerals, roots, animal dens and other artifacts and processes. The arroyo exposes the history of the area.
Because the arroyo clears a path for the easiest traverse, it functions as a highway and home to many animals and because it has more surface water than other contiguous areas it nourishes an abundance of plant life. There are species here that do not appear in the surrounding area and the same species which are native to the area can be 3-4 times the size due to increased water and protection from sun and wind. The floor of the sandy and/or mud surfaced arroyo is covered with tracks of mammals and birds.
In and around Santa Fe, NM one can see evidence of crows, bears, various wild cats, antelope, skunks and coyotes. In this area the course of travel for cougars has been shown to be a series of arroyos which come from north of Santa Fe and go south and west toward Galisteo and points beyond. The sides of deeply cut arroyos provide a sheltered habitat for dens and burrows of various animals including coyotes, bobcats, prairie dogs,and burrowing owls. The arroyo is like a large apartment house with all kinds of various families and loners making it a home.
It’s no wonder that one gets the sense that the arroyo is aware of you if yr quiet and pay attention. A friend said to me, “I always feel like I’m being watched out there”. There are untold intelligences feeling, sensing and seeing you. It’s a part of being awake out here.
HERESLOOKINATCHA
The arroyo is the refuge of the wild. Besides the crows and coyotes one meets all manner of wanderers, a homeless vet who slept here last night, a jogger, dog walkers. The Navahos traveled through canyons and arroyos avoiding the white mans’ army, raiding ranches and stealing cattle, horses, and sheep. It took the US Govt decades to subdue them and then it was with lies not military defeat. They could have stayed below sight in the arroyos for who knows how much longer, perhaps years and history could even still exist here on a parallel track. Many tracks cross each other in the arroyo.
Mexican and later New Mexican folklore identify the arroyo as the home of La lllorona, the weeping lady who mourns for her lost children. You can hear her wild sorrow in the strong winds of northern New Mexico. Children are cautioned not to go into the arroyo because, in her loss, she might “claim you for her own”.
It is interesting that in the time leading to the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico this inconsolate weeping was heard in the arroyos and canyons and similar stories have been told by some north american tribes re: the arrival of the white man.