Canada Alamosa, New Mexico facts for kids

Canada Alamosa is an American way of saying the Spanish name Cañada Alamosa. It means "Glen or Valley of the Cottonwoods." This name has been used for five different places in the same area of Socorro and Sierra Counties, New Mexico. When you read old texts, the name Canada Alamosa might refer to any of these places, so you have to guess which one based on what the text is about.

Canada Alamosa can mean:

• The entire valley or canyon of Alamosa Creek. This area is now called Monticello Canyon. Alamosa Creek was also known by other names like Arroyo Alamosa or Rio Alamosa.
• A special box canyon within Cañada Alamosa, which is also called Monticello Canyon or Monticello Box today.
• The part of Cañada Alamosa above the Monticello Box. This area was considered home by the Warm Springs band of Apaches. It has a warm spring called Ojo Caliente, whose waters flow into Alamosa Creek.
• The town of San Ygnacio de Alamosa (or just Alamosa). This was the site of the Battle of Canada Alamosa near the Rio Grande.
• A small community that was settled around 1863-1865. It was a few miles south of the box canyon on Alamosa Creek. In 1881, it changed its name to Monticello, New Mexico.

The Cañada Alamosa area was the historic home of Apache groups in the mid-1800s, especially the Warm Springs band (also known as Chihenne or Red Paint People). The heart of their homeland was a warm spring called Ojo Caliente, located at the western entrance to the canyon. The U.S. government even had Apache Indian Agencies in this area from 1852 to 1877.

Between 1863 and 1866, a new community was started on Alamosa Creek by settlers from San Ygnacio de la Alamosa and some former soldiers. This town became known as Cañada Alamosa. It was about 16 miles south of Ojo Caliente. Leaders of the Warm Springs Apaches made a special agreement with the people of this town. This agreement was said to have never been broken because it helped both the townspeople and the Apaches. The Apaches would trade goods and livestock for things they needed, like supplies.

In 1874, an agency was built at Ojo Caliente for the Warm Springs Apaches. However, after 1877, this agency was closed, and the Warm Springs band was moved to the San Carlos Reservation. Some Apaches, led by Victorio and Nana, refused to move and continued to fight U.S. and Mexican forces in what was called Victorio's War. Eventually, they were either defeated or forced to surrender and move to reservations far from Canada Alamosa.

In 1881, the town of Canada Alamosa changed its name to Monticello. Since then, the canyon of the Alamosa has sometimes been called Monticello Canyon. Today, the Canada Alamosa area is still quiet and has few people. Monticello is still inhabited but has a much smaller population. The old buildings of the Ojo Caliente agency have mostly disappeared. The Ojo Caliente hot springs still flow, providing much of the water for Alamosa Creek, which is used to water small farms.

Note 1: The Ojo Caliente hot springs mentioned here are in Socorro County, New Mexico. Do not confuse them with another place called Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, which is a community about 200 miles away in Taos County. Note 2: The Alamosa Creek in this article is in southwest Socorro County and northwest Sierra County. There is another Alamosa Creek in northern Socorro County, but it is not the same one.

Alamosa Creek and Monticello Canyon

Cañada Alamosa is the old name for a canyon on Alamosa Creek, which is now often called Monticello Canyon. Alamosa Creek flows generally from north to southeast. The canyon part is in the middle of the creek's path. It runs northwest to southeast and separates the San Mateo Mountains from the smaller Sierra Cuchillo.

The name Cañada Alamosa is also used for Alamosa Creek itself. Alamosa Creek enters the western part of the canyon in a desert area. This is about 30 miles from where the creek starts in the San Mateo Mountains. It's also about 37 miles upstream from where the creek flows into the Rio Grande, near Elephant Butte Reservoir. The canyon is about 12 miles long. It divides Alamosa Creek into an upper section and a lower section.

Above the Monticello Box canyon, Alamosa Creek is often dry for much of the year. But as the creek bed gets closer to the canyon, it gets water from several springs. Willow Springs is about 550 meters upstream from the creek. There are also small springs along the south bank. About 300 meters north of the canyon's entrance is Ojo Caliente, a warm spring. It sends warm water down a small valley to Alamosa Creek.

Apache Warm Spring is about 1000 meters south of the canyon's entrance. This spring no longer has water flowing on the surface. It is in Red Paint Canyon, where there is red earth. The Warm Springs Apaches used this red earth for face paint, which gave them their name, Chihenne, or Red Paint People. This spring was once explored for minerals, but the companies decided not to mine there, so the area remains mostly unchanged.

The springs near the canyon's entrance provide water all year round. About 2000 gallons of water flow out every minute at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. This water flows down the canyon, joined by other springs. After about 12 miles, all the creek's water is collected into a ditch. This ditch is used to water small farms along the creek for about 6 miles, reaching Monticello. As the water is used for farming, its flow decreases. After Monticello, the creek often becomes dry again until it reaches the Rio Grande.

A New Mexico state road goes to Monticello. County roads continue up to the canyon. A Forest Road goes through the canyon itself. In the canyon, this road often runs right in the flowing river bed. When it's open, you can drive on this road. Signs recommend using vehicles with high clearance and four-wheel drive. At the upper end of the canyon, the Forest Road meets state road NM 52.

Monticello, New Mexico (Historic Cañada Alamosa Community)

Cañada Alamosa is the old name for a community on Alamosa Creek. It is about 20 miles upstream from where the creek flows into the Rio Grande. This community was settled in 1856 in the middle of Chihenne Apache territory. It was about 17 miles south of Ojo Caliente, the hot springs that the Chihenne considered their homeland's center.

In 1867, the Apache Chief Loco made a special peace agreement with the community of Cañada Alamosa. This agreement was unique among Apache tribes. It is said to be the only treaty that was never broken by either side.

This agreement lasted not because the two sides liked each other, but because it made economic sense. The Apaches needed a safe place to trade goods and livestock. The townspeople made a good profit from these trades.

The community provided supplies, including arms and ammunition, in exchange for the goods. Ammunition was especially important for the Apaches to hunt and to continue their activities.

The Warm Springs (Chihenne) Apaches' homeland was centered on Ojo Caliente, a hot spring on the east side of the Alamosa Creek canyon. In 1874, the U.S. built an agency there for them. The canyon helped separate the Hispanic community from the Apache band. In 1877, the U.S. changed its policy and closed this agency. The Warm Springs (Chihenne) Band was forced to move to a central Apache agency at San Carlos. This led to conflicts where many Warm Springs Apaches were either killed or forced to surrender. They were then imprisoned or moved to distant agencies watched by the U.S. Army.

The community of Cañada Alamosa continued. It now had full control of the water from Alamosa Creek and the farmland along it. In 1881, the first postmaster, Aristide Bourguet, renamed the town Monticello, after Monticello, New York. The community still exists today, though with fewer people. Today, Monticello and nearby Las Placitas have several organic farms. These farms use the irrigation system fed by the springs of Alamosa Creek. They grow fruits and vegetables. Local people also make herbal health and beauty products and balsamic vinegar.

Cañada Alamosa: Apache Homeland

Cañada Alamosa is the term historians use for the homeland of the Warm Springs Band (Chihenne, or Red Paint People) of the Chiricahua Apache. Their homeland was centered in the Cañada Alamosa area. They believed a spring, Ojo Caliente, was the heart of this ancestral home. This hot spring is right at the upstream entrance to the box canyon on Alamosa Creek.

Because some Apache bands were so connected to Ojo Caliente at Cañada Alamosa, the U.S. government considered setting up an agency there. In 1852, the government created a "Southern Apache Agency" that included this area. This agency originally had power over several Apache bands, including the Mimbreño, Mogollon, Coyotero, and Mescalero Apache.

Over the years, the agency was located in different places near Ojo Caliente in Cañada Alamosa. In 1873, the agency and reservation moved to a different location in New Mexico. However, in 1874, the reservation and agency were moved back to Ojo Caliente, just north of the canyon. During this time, adobe buildings were built for the agency about half a mile east of the canyon's upstream entrance. Both the reservation and agency were closed in 1877. The Apaches at the agency were moved to the San Carlos reservation in Arizona.

During the time the agency was at Ojo Caliente, the Chihenne band had some amazing warrior leaders. Besides Loco, the Chihenne were also led by Victorio, a famous war chief. His sister, Lozen, was a skilled warrior and prophetess. Nana was another noted warrior and chief who fought fiercely even into his 80s.

After 1877, when their request for a reservation near Cañada Alamosa was denied, Victorio, Lozen, Nana, and other Warm Springs/Chihenne Apaches left the San Carlos reservation. They fought a long war until 1886, known as Victorio's War. This war happened in areas away from Cañada Alamosa. It led to the deaths of many Americans and Mexicans, and most of the remaining Warm Springs/Chihenne Apaches were killed or captured. The captured group and the few survivors were considered part of the Chiricahua Apaches by the U.S. authorities. They were then sent to Florida, then Alabama, and finally to a reservation in Oklahoma.

Visiting the Canada Alamosa Area Today

The Canada Alamosa area is still a beautiful and somewhat remote place to visit.

New Mexico State Highway 52: To the North and West End of the Canyon

• From the Rio Grande Valley: If you start near Elephant Butte Lake (from I-25 at the "Truth or Consequences Municipal Airport" exit), New Mexico State Highway 52 goes west through Cuchillo, New Mexico. It continues north and west towards Winston and Chloride, New Mexico. Then it turns north, passing west of the Sierra Cuchillo mountains. Finally, it turns east again to meet Alamosa Creek near the western (or upstream) entrance to the Canada Alamosa box canyon. Here, it meets Forest Road 140. Near this spot is the Ojo Caliente hot springs, which was important to the Warm Springs Apache band. From here, you can go back east and south through the box canyon on Forest Road 140 to Monticello. Or, you can continue north on State Highway 52, passing through Dusty, New Mexico, to U.S. Highway 60, west of Magdalena, N.M.
• From U.S. Highway 60: If you start from U.S. Highway 60 near the "Very Large Array" (a famous radio telescope) in Magdalena, New Mexico, State Highway 52 runs south to the Canada Alamosa canyon and the Ojo Caliente hot springs. This is the reverse of the route described above.

New Mexico State Highway 142 and Forest Road 140: To Monticello and Through the Canyon

New Mexico State Highway 142 branches off State Highway 52. It is about 5 miles west of where Highway 52 leaves I-25 in the Rio Grande Valley. State Highway 142 then goes west and north out of the Rio Grande Valley, up to Monticello, New Mexico. After Monticello, the road continues up Alamosa Creek, becoming Forest Road 140. This road goes north and west through the box canyon, often driving right in the river bed. Forest Road 140 comes out of the northwestern end of the canyon, passes the small valley where Ojo Caliente flows, and meets New Mexico State Highway 52.

Forest Road 140 might only be open during certain seasons when traveling through the box canyon. It is important to be careful on this part of the route, which goes through the box canyon north of Monticello.