Rio Grande // Cañada Ancha Peel
Storm in the City
Collected 2016; lat 35.694880°, long -105.903465°; elevation 2240 meters
The Cañada Ancha sand peel sculpture comes from an arroyo situated just northeast and upstream of the historic Plaza at the heart of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The arroyo is dry except when storms bring heavy rains which flow from the arroyo into the Santa Fe River and eventually into the Rio Grande. The Tewa and Keres peoples who first settled in the area called this river "'Ogap'oge" or "Hashuk" respectively.
The sand peel sculpture embodies the history of management of natural features since Spanish colonization and contemporary issues accentuated by climate change. The arroyo is both a road and a major flash flood drainage path. This is not sustainable if climate change causes fewer but more dramatic storms.
Location
Dry arroyo near the intersection of Hyde Park Road and Gonzales Road in the historic district of Santa Fe. The arroyo becomes Lorenzo Lane just downstream of the sand peel location.
Interpretation
Flash flood deposits in Cañada Ancha – cobbles and poorly sorted, very coarse sands representing a storm deposit from a flash flood on August 2, 2016, as seen in the video below showing the Lorenzo Lane section of the arroyo.
