Mora River

Mora River
A view of the Mora River looking upstream in the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge on November 15, 2021.
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Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Confluence Osha Mountain
• coordinates	36°16′4.47″N105°19′33.54″W / 36.2679083°N 105.3259833°W / 36.2679083; -105.3259833
Mouth
• location	Confluence with Canadian River
• coordinates	35°43′40.14″N104°23′13.93″W / 35.7278167°N 104.3872028°W / 35.7278167; -104.3872028
• elevation	1,409 ft (429 m)
Basin features
Progression	Canadian River—Arkansas River—Mississippi River—Gulf of Mexico

Mora River, also known as Rio Mora, is a stream in Mora and San Miguel County, New Mexico. Its headwaters are on Osha Mountain ^[1] of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The river flows downstream primarily through private land, but there are areas for fishing brown and rainbow trout below on public land in the town of Mora. It is a tributary of the Canadian River. ^[2] It was called Rio Mora or Rio de lo de Mora on early maps.

The Mora River should not be confused with another stream also called the Rio Mora, which lies to the southwest of the Mora River in the Pecos Wilderness and is a tributary of the Pecos River. ^[3]

Course

A view of the Mora River in the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge on November 15, 2021.

The headwaters are located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Chacon. The stream flows south through Mora, east through La Cueva and Watrous to the confluence at Canadian River, north of Sabinoso. ^[3] A five-mile (8 km) stretch of the river meanders through the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge, sometimes running between steep canyon walls up to 300 feet (91 m) in height. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

Tributaries

Coyote Creek, which runs through Coyote Creek State Park, is a tributary of Mora River. ^[8]

See also

• List of rivers of New Mexico

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mora River
2. Ti Piper (1989). Fishing in New Mexico. UNM Press. pp. 166, 275. ISBN   978-0-8263-1138-2.
3. Robert Hixson Julyan (1996). The Place Names of New Mexico. UNM Press. p. 235. ISBN   978-0-8263-1689-9.
4. "Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area". fws.gov. United States Fish and Wildlife Service . Retrieved July 6, 2025.
5. "Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area About Us". fws.gov. United States Fish and Wildlife Service . Retrieved July 6, 2025.
6. "Rio Mora Wildlife Refuge Dedicated". fws.gov. New Mexico Highlands University . Retrieved July 6, 2025.
7. Miller, Brian (March 16, 2019). "Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area". rewilding.org. REWILDINGEARTH. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
8. "Coyote Creek State Park". Virtual Geologic Tour of New Mexico. New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2018.