Tierra Amarilla, NM

Tierra Amarilla is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. The 2020 census counted 297 residents. Tierra Amarilla is Spanish for "Yellow Earth". The name refers to clay deposits found in the Chama River Valley and used by Native American peoples. The two schools in the community are: Tierra Amarilla Elementary School and Escalante Middle/High School. The through line in Tierra Amarilla is the way its history and present-day settings remain visible on the same map. Tierra Amarilla makes the most sense through those concrete details, with its history still visible in the settings people use today. Tewa and Navajo toponyms for the area also refer to the yellow clay. There is evidence of 5000 years of habitation in the Chama River Valley including pueblo sites south of Abiquiu. The route taken by the friars from Santa Fe to California became the Spanish Trail.