| North Carrizo Creek | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Baca County, Colorado |
| • coordinates | 37°05′22″N103°01′24″W / 37.08944°N 103.02333°W [1] |
| • elevation | 4,564 feet (1,391 m) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Cimarron County, Oklahoma |
• coordinates | 36°56′06″N102°56′32″W / 36.93500°N 102.94222°W [2] |
• elevation | 4,262 feet (1,299 m) [2] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Cimarron River—Arkansas—Mississippi |
North Carrizo Creek forms in Baca County, Colorado at the confluence of East Carrizo Creek and West Carrizo Creek, at a point about 6 miles north of the Preston Monument, the tripoint of Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico. [3] [4] North Carrizo Creek then flows generally south-southeast into Oklahoma to join the Cimarron River northeast of Kenton, Oklahoma and near Black Mesa. The creek is about 12 miles (19 km) long in straight-line distance from its head to its mouth. [5] Most of the land near the creek is privately owned, although a few tracts of land in Colorado are part of Comanche National Grassland. There are no towns and only a few ranches along or near the creek. [6]
North Carrizo Creek flows through an area characterized by mesas and narrow valleys. The climate is semi-arid steppe, Bsk in the Köppen Classification. Vegetation is mostly grassland although pinyon and juniper woodland is found in canyons and on steep slopes. [7] Precipitation in Kenton averages 17.15 in (436 mm) annually. July and August are the rainiest months. [8] Elevations along the creek range from 4,262 ft (1,299 m) at its mouth to about 4,564 ft (1,391 m) at its source. [9] [2]
The creek has also been known as Carrizo Creek, Carrizozo Creek, Carrizzo Creek, and North Carrizozo Creek. [2] (There is a Carrizozo Creek in the area, but it joins the Cimarron River to the west.) [10] Carrizo means reed in Spanish.
