Carlsbad Greener Than Neighbors Artesia And Roswell (Alamogordo, Las Vegas: living in, stores)

[Geography101]

Last Summer I took a road trip through beautiful NM and I noticed that Carlsbad was much more greener than its neighbors of Artesia and Roswell. There seem to be more trees and green grass there and I thought that all cities received about the same amount of rainfall. Could it be that Carlsbad is in a river valley? I thought all the greenery made the town pretty.

[jaxart]

Originally Posted by Geography101

Could it be that Carlsbad is in a river valley?

That has a lot to do with it plus the fact there is extensive irrigation along the Pecos at Carlsbad.

The Carlsbad Project is in southeastern New Mexico near Ft. Sumner and Carlsbad. The Carlsbad Project stores water in Santa Rosa (a Corps of Engineers Dam), Sumner, Brantley, and Avalon Dams to provide water for about 25,000 acres within the Carlsbad Irrigation District. Project features include Sumner Dam and Lake Sumner (formerly Alamogordo Dam and Reservoir), McMillan Dam (breached in 1991 and replaced with Brantley Dam, Avalon Dam, and a drainage and distribution system to irrigate 25,055 acres of land in the Carlsbad area.

I found a "picture history" of Carlsbad in my library recently and it relates how the Pecos used to flood on a fairly regular basis before the dams were built. I recall that the town was washed out something like 15 times over the years since it was first established "way back when." It also shows how the cottonwood trees that were set out many years ago have flourished over the years, with many of the original plantings still surviving today.

[rruff]

When I was living in my truck and spending winters north of Yuma near the Colorado River, I got some info on the history of the place. Back in the day the river was huge... they actually had Mississippi style river boats on it... and it would flood a huge area in the spring, which made for large cottonwood groves along it's length.

Now the river is greening farms and supplying water to Las Vegas, and by the time it gets to Yuma it's never more than a trickle... no more flooding, or greenery or groves...

[jaxart]

Originally Posted by rruff

... and it would flood a huge area in the spring, which made for large cottonwood groves along it's length.

As you probably know, Alamogordo gets it's name "fat cottonwood (poplar)" from the old growth trees that used to be around the natural spring that once flowed there. When I was a kid the park along White Sands Blvd. was lined with huge cottonwoods that overhung the highway and provided wonderful shade to stop the car under as we traveled between El Paso and Ruidoso. It was more like Tularosa is today - back then.