Pecos River

{{short description|River in New Mexico and Texas, United States}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Pecos River

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| name_other = Río Pecos
Río Natagés

| name_etymology =

| image = Pecos river bridge.jpg

| image_caption = Pecos River High Bridge, near Langtry, Val Verde County, Texas

| image_size = 300

| map = Pecosmap.png

| map_size = 300

| map_caption = Map of the Pecos River watershed.

| pushpin_map =

| pushpin_map_size = 300

| pushpin_map_caption=

| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = United States

| subdivision_type2 = State

| subdivision_name2 = Texas, New Mexico

| subdivision_type3 =

| subdivision_name3 =

| subdivision_type4 =

| subdivision_name4 =

| subdivision_type5 =

| subdivision_name5 =

| length = {{convert|926|mi|km|abbr=on}}

| width_min =

| width_avg =

| width_max =

| depth_min =

| depth_avg =

| depth_max =

| discharge1_location= IBWC station 08-4474.10 near Langtry, Texas{{cite web |url= http://www.ibwc.gov/Water_Data/water_bulletins.html |title= Water Bulletin Number 75: Flow of the Rio Grande and Related Data; From Elephant Butte Dam, New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico |year= 2005 |publisher= International Boundary and Water Commission |access-date= 17 July 2010 |archive-date= 18 April 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200418093724/https://www.ibwc.gov/Water_Data/water_bulletins.html |url-status= dead }}

| discharge1_min = {{convert|42|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}

| discharge1_avg = {{convert|265|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}

| discharge1_max = {{convert|152910|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}

| source1 = Pecos Falls

| source1_location = {{convert|29|mi|km|abbr=on}} north of Pecos, New Mexico

| source1_coordinates= {{coord|35|58|34|N|105|33|29|W|display=inline}}{{Gnis|1384150|Pecos River}}

| source1_elevation = {{convert|11759|ft|abbr=on}}

| mouth = Rio Grande

| mouth_location = Seminole Canyon, Val Verde County, {{convert|37|mi|km|abbr=on}} northwest of Del Rio, Texas

| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|29|41|59|N|101|22|17|W|display=inline,title}}

| mouth_elevation = {{convert|1115|ft|abbr=on}}

| progression =

| river_system =

| basin_size = {{convert|44402|sqmi|abbr=on}}

| tributaries_left =

| tributaries_right =

| custom_label =

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| extra = {{Designation list

| embed = yes

| designation1 = nwsr

| designation1_type = Wild, Recreational

| designation1_date = June 6, 1990

| designation1_number =

}}

}}

The Pecos River ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|eɪ|k|ə|s}} {{respell|PAY|kəs}};{{cite web|url=http://www.texastripper.com/pronounce/locations-p.html|title=How to Pronounce: P Cities|date=23 September 2014|work=texastripper.com|access-date=4 September 2016}} {{langx|es|Río Pecos}}) originates in north-central 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, New Mexico, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet (3,700 m).{{cite web |url=http://www.ose.state.nm.us/isc_pecos.html |title=Office of the State Engineer :: Interstate Stream Commission :: Basins and Programs :: Pecos River Basin |website=www.ose.state.nm.us |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051114182606/http://www.ose.state.nm.us/isc_pecos.html |archive-date=2005-11-14}} 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).[http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/ Largest Rivers of the United States], USGS

The name "Pecos" derives from the Keresan (Native American language) term for the Pecos Pueblo, [p'æyok'ona].{{cite book|last=Bright|first=William|author-link=William Bright|title=Native American placenames of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&pg=PA375|access-date=11 April 2011|year=2004|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3598-4|page=375}} The river was also historically referred to as the Río Natagés for the Mescalero people.{{Cite web| title=Spanish missions, presidios, and roads in the 17th and 18th centuries | url=https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_texas/texas_spanish_missions.jpg | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111163007/https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_texas/texas_spanish_missions.jpg | archive-date=2019-11-11}}