2017 Map of Billy Rice Canyon

About this map

Billy Rice Canyon and the surrounding high desert of Rio Arriba County are defined by a complex drainage system cutting through the plateau. Water remains the central character of this landscape, evidenced by the perennial reach of Cañada Larga which serves as the primary valley floor, and the remote G W Leeson Spring to the north. The terrain is a network of named drainages including Cottonwood Canyon, Leeson Canyon, and Starve Out Canyon, each leading away from the higher elevations of the Adobe Knobs. This late-twentieth-century landscape shows minimal modern development, primarily accessed via a grid of rural routes such as Co RD 529 and Co RD 406, maintaining the character of the open New Mexico range as it appeared before more intensive contemporary infrastructure reached these canyonlands.