What is "rio hondo"

The Rio Hondo (Spanish translation: "Deep River") is a tributary of the Los Angeles River in Los Angeles County, California, approximately long. As a named river, it begins in Irwindale and flows southwest to its confluence in South Gate, passing through several cities (though not the city of Los Angeles). Above Irwindale its main stem is known as Santa Anita Creek, which extends another northwards into the San Gabriel Mountains where the source, or headwaters, of the river are found.

The Rio Hondo has sometimes been described as a second channel of the San Gabriel River. For much of its length, the rivers flow parallel to each other about two miles (3 km) apart. Both rivers pass through the Whittier Narrows, a natural gap in the hills which form the southern boundary of the San Gabriel Valley. Here, both rivers are impounded by the Whittier Narrows Dam, which the Army Corps of Engineers describes as, "the central element of the Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA) flood control system". During major storms, the outlet works at Whittier Narrows Dam can direct water to either channel, or runoff can be stored.

The Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River have both been part of a revitalization program called the Emerald Necklace. The goal of this program is to create a "necklace" of parks and reclaimed wild spaces with the two rivers. They are connected by a narrow strip in Irwindale and by Whittier Narrows to give them the appearance of a necklace if viewed from above. The project garnered broad support from organizations such as the Sierra Club along with the governments of the many cities the rivers pass through.

Most of the Rio Hondo is a concrete-lined channel to serve its primary flood control function, but in two places the river flows over open ground: the Peck Road Water Conservation Park, and the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area. Large spreading grounds for water conservation surround much of the river, and its bike paths are very popular.

The river passes through the location of the Battle of Rio San Gabriel, fought on January 8, 1847, and which resulted in a U.S. victory. Although the battle was actually fought on west bank of the present-day Rio Hondo near where it is crossed by Washington Blvd, the battle is named after the San Gabriel, which at that time flowed along these banks. A flood in 1867 caused the San Gabriel to change course, which it retains at present. The old San Gabriel was renamed the Rio Hondo after this flood. In Downey, California, the Rio Hondo was once known as the "Old River", because it was the old course of the San Gabriel River. The Old River School was named for it, and Old River School Road was named for the school. The "New River" is the present course of the San Gabriel River.

The Rio Hondo College and Rio Hondo Preparatory School were named after the river.

Río Hondo (Spanish for "deep river") or Hondo River may refer to:

In northern New Mexico, the Rio Hondo begins high in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Taos Ski Valley and flows for approximately into the Rio Grande. Portions of the Rio Hondo are prized as prime spots for bird-watching and fishing. The river was the subject of a 2005 study by the New Mexico Environment Department Surface Water Quality Bureau into the effects of wastewater from Taos Ski Valley, which is discharged from the Village of Taos Ski Valley Waste Water Treatment Plant.

In Spanish, Río Hondo means "deep river".

The Rio Hondo is a river in southern New Mexico which begins at the confluence of the Rio Bonito and Rio Ruidoso rivers near the town of Hondo, New Mexico. The river flows eastward through the Hondo Valley in the foothills of the Sierra Blanca and Capitan Mountains, roughly paralleling the route of U.S. Route 70 through the towns of Picacho and Tinnie. Near the community of Riverside the river passes through a deep canyon before entering the rolling hills west of Roswell.

Approximately southwest of Roswell the river enters an Army Corps of Engineers flood control reservoir known as the Two Rivers Dam. The reservoir is typically dry except during the spring runoff. The reservoir also contains the runoff of Rocky Arroyo, an intermittent stream that parallels the Rio Hondo a few miles to the south. Two earth fill dams totaling in length have the capacity to impound of water. The two dams act as two separate reservoirs, one for the Rio Hondo and one for Rocky Arroyo unless the water level is very high. Then the Rio Hondo and Rocky Arroyo reservoirs merge into a single large reservoir.

After passing through the reservoir, the Rio Hondo begins to meander through the flat land of the Pecos River valley. Rocky Arroyo merges with the Rio Honda west of the Roswell International Air Center then the Hondo travels northeasterly through Roswell. In many areas the natural route of the river has been altered. This is especially true in the city of Roswell where the river has been lined with concrete or paving stones. In Roswell a small tributary, the Spring River, joins the Hondo. Just east of Roswell another tributary, the Berrendo River, also joins, and downstream from there the Rio Hondo empties into the Pecos River near Bottomless Lakes State Park.

The upper stretch of the river typically flows year-round, however irrigation along the length of the river siphons off much of the natural flow. By the time the river reaches Roswell it is dry, except after storms and during the spring runoff from the mountains.