Gallinas River
San Miguel County New Mexico
Photo by Stephen Whitmore
The Gallinas, which begins on the SE slope of 11,661' high Elk Mt., flows SE through steep-walled Upper Gallinas Canyon, past four hot springs near Montezuma, through Las Vegas, SE through steep-walled Lower Gallinas Canyon, toward the Pecos River, 75 mi. from its headwaters. Trout (rainbow and German brown) lure fishermen throughout the year.
The Gallinas, a dependable water source, enabled the early Spanish settlement of Las Vegas to flourish and for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad to build there. For nearly 150 years, the Gallinas separated Old Town from railroad-era New Town, connected only by the aptly named Bridge Street which spanned it.
- View the Google Map for this site (lat-long decimal degrees, NAD27) 35.66068 -105.34001
- Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce
- 701 Grand Avenue
- PO Box 128
- Las Vegas, NM 87701
- 505-425-8631
- fax: 505-425-3057
- email: lvsmcc@desertgate.com
- www.lasvegasnm.org
