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Northern Rio Grande National Heritage AreaRio Chama near Abiquiu
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Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area

Stretching from Albuquerque to the Colorado border, the heritage area includes Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, and Taos counties. It encompasses a mosaic of cultures, including the Jicarilla Apache, 8 Pueblo tribes, and the descendants of Spanish colonists who settled in the area beginning in 1598, a generation before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock.

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Mountain Village

A Cultural Landscape

Within the heritage area boundaries are many significant historic sites and a cultural landscape that reflects long settlement of the region. These include Taos Pueblo, recognized as a World Heritage Site, and other pre-Columbian and Colonial Spanish places designated as National Historic Landmarks, or listed in the National Register of Historic Places or the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties.
 
Woolen yarns, native plant dyes

Management Planning Process

The Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area is required by the US Congress to complete a comprehensive plan that demonstrates knowledge of the cultural and natural resources in the Heritage Area. We need your input on what to include. Learn more here.
 
Taos community workshop

Community Meetings a Success

As part of the heritage area planning process, six public meetings were held throughout the region including this one in Taos. Learn more about what happened here.

 
 

Write to

PO BOX 610
Española, NM 87532

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Phone

Heritage Area Information
(505) 753-0937

Climate

Northern New Mexico has a mild, semi-arid continental climate characterized by abundant sunshine. The summer monsoon season usually brings brief but exciting thundershowers in late afternoon, while winter snowstorms alternate with long stretches of sunny, cloudless days.
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Spotted Bat resting at the Bighorn Canyon Visitor Center, photo by J. Ryan  

Did You Know?
The Spotted bat, Euderma maculatum, echolocation calls are audible to the unaided human ear. They are listed as a sensitive species of concern in Montana and Wyoming.
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Last Updated: May 05, 2009 at 18:19 EST