The Rio Calaveras Research Site
About Rio Calaveras
The Rio Calaveras is a small headwater stream in the Jemez National Recreation Area in Northern New Mexico. Mountain peaks near the stream reach an altitude of around 8000 feet above sea level. This 57,000-acre wilderness provides a home for various native plant and animal species of northern New Mexico and is a popular recreation area. The Rio Calaveras flows into the Rio Cebolla just below the Seven Springs Fish Hatchery. This water makes its way to the Jemez River and eventually ends up in the Rio Grande.
Significance of the Site
The Rio Calaveras research site in northern New Mexico was used for over a decade and has a large body of work that has come from it. The research done at the site covers a wide variety of geo-eco-hydrological processes in headwater streams. The work generally focused on hyporheic zone interactions, primary production, and energy transfer. These topics are important because hyporheic zone interactions dictate how contaminants and other substances travel between surface water and groundwater, and primary production/ energy transfer data shows us how healthy the ecosystem is overall. For cities and governments to make informed decisions regarding water use and public health there must be an understanding of ecosystem behavior and health over long periods of time. Long term ecological research at a site provides critical information about ecosystem function, provides training and experience for many graduate and undergraduate students, and makes scientific research publicly available. To learn more about research at the site, and how it became so successful click 'More About Rio Calaveras Research' below.
