Advertising for Original Sweetmeat Inc. The billboard includes the apparent modern Navajo name for the place.
The area now known as Waterflow is traditional Navajo territory. This place was called Chʼį́įdii Łichííʼ (Red Devil) in reference to Walter Stallings who operated a trading post in the area;[4] nowadays, Tséyaa Akʼahí (beneath-rock oil) seems to be another designation in reference to the nearby oil fields, as can be seen on billboards in the area (pictured).
The early Anglo settlers in this area named the place "Jewett Valley", and established Jewett Valley Cemetery as early as 1886. Although some reports say these pioneers were predominantly Catholic, one of the earliest families to be buried in this cemetery, the Hunts, have long been LDS.[5]
Catholicism in Waterflow, New Mexico dates from February 22, 1912, when the first Mass was celebrated there in makeshift quarters. Three young men, Joseph and Lorenzo Stallings of Kentucky and David Watson of Georgia, Catholics, were among the pioneer settlers of the region. They called on the Franciscan Fathers at Farmington for help in establishing a church at Waterflow, which they called “Kentucky Mesa.” Sacred Heart Church was dedicated May 16, 1917.
The town was named "Jewett" in P. F. Collier'satlas as early as 1923. The local Catholic church remained a mission of Farmington but began to have a resident pastor in 1945. Since 1982, the Latter-day Saints have serviced their people in this area through the Kirtland Stake which covers from Kirtland west to Shiprock, New Mexico, and beyond.[6]
Geography
Waterflow is a high desert valley with the highest point being a geological hogback called "Hogback". The San Juan River and Shumway Arroyo are important water resources in the area.
Demographics
In 2010, Waterflow reported a total population of 1,670 people. 823 were male, and 807 were female. 809 identified themselves as White, 12 identified themselves as Black, 3 identified themselves as Asian, 171 were Hispanic, and 743 were Navajo. 620 speak a language other than English at home.[7] With 551 housing units and a land area of 8.323 sq. miles, there are approximately 190 people per sq. mile in Waterflow.[8]
Industry
PNM San Juan Generating Station
Waterflow lies between two coal-fired power plants and southwest of a large coal mine.[9][10] The area also has many oil wells.[11]
While convenient for employment, this proximity has caused several large environmental issues.[12][13][14] Because of this, air quality in Waterflow is 1 on a scale to 100 (higher is better). This is based on ozone alert days and number of pollutants in the air.[15] Groundwater near the San Juan coal mine in Waterflow is extremely polluted according to both the Sierra Club and New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division.[16]
A billboard in Waterflow.
The Sierra Club alleges that the San Juan Coal Company has improperly dumped more than 40 million tons of coal ash and sludge into unlined pits, resulting in the contamination of waterways and wells near the mine.
The group says that the waste, and the contaminated water, pose a danger to livestock, wildlife and families in the area, and in early December 2007, the Sierra Club announced that it intends to sue the owners of the San Juan Coal Company.
The company denies responsibility for the contamination.[17]
San Juan County is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 121,661 making it the fifth-most populous county in New Mexico. Its county seat is Aztec. The county was created in 1887.
Farmington is a city in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census the city had a total population of 46,624 people. Farmington makes up one of the four Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in New Mexico.
Kirtland is a town, made up of part of the former census-designated place (CDP) of the same name in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. The population of the former CDP was 6,190 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Farmington Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Nenahnezad is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 726 at the 2000 census. Nenahnezad is a Chapter community just to the south of Fruitland, between the towns of Farmington and Shiprock. It is part of the Farmington Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Shiprock is an unincorporated community on the Navajo reservation in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 7,718 people in the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Shiprock as a census-designated place (CDP). It is part of the Farmington Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Navajo Nation, also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly 17,544,500 acres, the Navajo Nation is the largest land area held by a Native American tribe in the U.S., exceeding ten U.S. states. In 2010, the reservation was home to 173,667 out of 332,129 Navajo tribal members; the remaining 158,462 tribal members lived outside the reservation, in urban areas, border towns, and elsewhere in the U.S.. The seat of government is located in Window Rock, Arizona.
The San Juan River is a major tributary of the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States, providing the chief drainage for the Four Corners region of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. Originating as snowmelt in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, it flows 383 miles (616 km) through the deserts of northern New Mexico and southeastern Utah to join the Colorado River at Glen Canyon.
U.S. Route 550 (US 550) is a spur of U.S. Highway 50 that runs from Bernalillo, New Mexico to Montrose, Colorado in the western United States. The section from Silverton to Ouray is frequently called the Million Dollar Highway. It is one of the roads on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways.
Shiprock is a monadnock rising nearly 1,583 feet (482.5 m) above the high-desert plain of the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. Its peak elevation is 7,177 feet (2,187.5 m) above sea level. It is about 10.75 miles (17.30 km) southwest of the town of Shiprock, which is named for the peak.
Coyote Waits is the tenth crime fiction novel in the Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series by Tony Hillerman published in 1990.
Hunting Badger is the fourteenth crime fiction novel in the Joe Leaphorn / Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series by Tony Hillerman, first published in 1999.
Rezball, short for "reservation ball," is a style of basketball associated with Native Americans, particularly at the high school level in the Southwestern United States, where many of the Indian reservations were created in the country.
Fruitland is an unincorporated community in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States, on the north side of the San Juan River. It is immediately west of central Kirtland and north across the river from the Navajo Nation and Upper Fruitland. Fruitland is east of Waterflow.
The Navajo Section is a physiographic section of the larger Colorado Plateaus Province, which in turn is part of the larger Intermontane Plateaus physiographic Division.
The Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is a 45,000-acre (18,000 ha) wilderness area located in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Established in 1984, the Wilderness is a desolate area of steeply eroded badlands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, except three parcels of private Navajo land within its boundaries. The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed March 12, 2019, expanded the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness by approximately 2,250 acres.
Central Consolidated Schools is a public school district based in Shiprock, New Mexico, United States.
Oil and gas production, tourism, and federal government spending are important drivers of New Mexico's economy. The state government has an elaborate system of tax credits and technical assistance to promote job growth and business investment, especially in new technologies.
The San Juan Generating Station is a coal-fired electric power plant located by its coal source, the San Juan Mine, near Waterflow, New Mexico, between Farmington and Shiprock in San Juan County, New Mexico. Its majority owner is Public Service Company of New Mexico, and other owners include Tucson Electric Power and the Farmington Electric Utility System.
The Navajo Transit System (NTS) is a public transportation system that serves and operates on the Navajo Nation. The system currently operates 17 routes throughout the Navajo Nation and within Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The system provides service to 41 of the 110 Navajo Chapter communities.
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