All over the North American west, and almost tall of South America, the term arroyo is used to define a number of water-related structures.
The word arroyo is the Spanish word for creek. The root of arroyo is the Latin arrugia, which means mineshaft.
Arroyos have also been called dry river or creek beds, draws, gulches, washes and, in the Middle East and North Africa, wadis.
However termed, an arroyo is a dry channel through which water flows intermittently and irregularly. Most arroyos are created by rapid erosion due to flash flooding
As water from rainstorms in the mountains or elsewhere in the desert, or even snow melt sought paths of least resistance, they either formed new arroyos or flowed into existing ones. The Grand Canyon probably began as an arroyo millions of years ago.
Native Americas once planted food gardens at the mouth of arroyos so that plants would catch water flowing through them during rainy seasons. The location of the gardens had the additional benefit of capturing soil washed down through flooding.
Now, large cities, even those that are nowhere near deserts, have established concrete arroyos, which are dry most of the year, but are used to carry rainwater and melted snow away from populated areas and back into major waterways.
In addition, farmers have taken advantage of the arroyo concept by using canals, filled only during irrigation season, to water crops.
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