Coyote Creek, NM

Coyote Creek, a tributary of the Mora River, flows almost due south through Guadalupita Canyon. An ridge called La Mesa rises to 9,112 feet (2,777 m) in elevation above the park to the east, and to the west is the Rincon subrange of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The park is located in the eastern foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at an altitude of 7,700 feet (2,300 m). There is an average precipitation of 18 inches (46 cm) per year and an average annual temperature of 46 °F (8 °C). Summer temperatures reaching 90 °F (32 °C) are unusual, though winters are severe with subzero temperatures and heavy snow. The average annual flow of Coyote creek is about 10,000 acre-feet.