Pecos River
| Pecos River | |
| Rio Pecos | |
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | Texas, New Mexico |
| Source | Pecos Falls |
| - location | 29 mi (47 km) north of Pecos, New Mexico |
| - elevation | 11,759 ft (3,584 m) |
| - coordinates | 35°58′34″N 105°33′29″W / 35.97611°N 105.55806°W |
| Mouth | Rio Grande |
| - location | Seminole Canyon, Val Verde County, 37 mi (60 km) northwest of Del Rio, Texas |
| - elevation | 1,115 ft (340 m) |
| - coordinates | 29°41′59″N 101°22′17″W / 29.69972°N 101.37139°WCoordinates: 29°41′59″N 101°22′17″W / 29.69972°N 101.37139°W |
| Length | 926 mi (1,490 km) |
| Basin | 44,402 sq mi (115,001 km2) |
| Discharge | for IBWC station 08-4474.10 near Langtry, Texas |
| - average | 265 cu ft/s (8 m3/s) |
| - max | 152,910 cu ft/s (4,330 m3/s) |
| - min | 42 cu ft/s (1 m3/s) |
 Map of the Pecos River watershed.
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The Pecos River is a river that originates in eastern New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, NM, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet (3,700 m) feet. The river flows for 926 miles (1,490 km) before reaching the Rio Grande near Del Rio. Its drainage basin encompasses about 44,300 square miles (115,000 km2).
The name "Pecos" derives from the Keresan (Native American language) term for the Pecos Pueblo, [p'æyok'ona].
The river played a large role in the exploration of Texas by the Spanish. In the latter half of the 19th century, "West of the Pecos" was a reference to the rugged desolation of the Wild West. The Texas storekeeper, bartender, and justice of the peace, Roy Bean, a native of Kentucky, was often described as "The Only Law West of the Pecos", a phrase made popular from the 1956 syndicated television series, Judge Roy Bean, with Edgar Buchanan in the starring role. In the series narration, "West of the Pecos" is described as:
the wildest spot in the United States ... virtually beyond the reach of the authorities, the railroads, then pushing their way west, attracted the most vicious characters in the country. It was said that all civilization and law stopped at the east bank of the Pecos. It took one man, a lone storekeeper who was sick of the lawlessness, to change all this. His name was Judge Roy Bean."
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Wikipedia